Tokyo Ghoul Zenith
by The CCG's Deathbringer
Summary: In Tokyo, yet another Tragedy arises. Two years after the events of Tokyo Ghoul: Pulse, both Humans and Ghouls are locked in eternal struggle. Ken Kaneki struggles against the most powerful enemy of all. Kaiko, and his own fate...
1. Chapter 1 - Advance of the Quinx

The lecture room was silent as Mr Popora stood behind his lectern, giving a lesson on Ghoul Crimes Phycology. The hall was almost full today. Students ranging from First Years to Graduates were attending this speech. Even a few Assistant Investigators, the most senior Post Graduates in the Academy were slouched against the back wall. Donato Popora was a very well respected teacher in the CCG Academy. Everyone knew he was a ghoul, and that through the powers that be, he had been pardoned and allowed to teach the future generation of Investigators. Third Year Student Noro Schneider clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Mr Poporas' presentation ended. Noro applauded politely, ignoring the snickers of " _The ghoul gets a pat on the head every time he_ leaves class" or " _What's a filthy ghoul doing in this academy?"_ Noro didn't care if he was a ghoul. He was one of Noro's favourite lecturers because he knew more on ghouls than any human teacher ever would. Noro Schneider was a top of the class Third Year student at the CCG Academy. In only two weeks, he would undergo his Graduation Exams, which would place him in the Post Graduates cycle of the Academy. There, after one year he would become an Assistant Investigator, then enter the CCG as a fully-fledged Rank 2 Investigator. After class during lunch break, a group of Graduates approach him, casting taunts at the young man. Noro tells them to piss off. He's in no mood for petty fighting. One of the bullies takes this harshly and grabs Noro by the collar, slamming him into a wall. "That'll teach you to grow up, little boy". The Graduates laugh as if the big 22 year-old had said something really funny. Noro is about to punch the offensive man in the nose when a figure dressed entirely in black steps out of the darkened walkway next to them. "Is there a problem here gentlemen?" The lead bully, whose name was Takashi Randel, immediately dropped Noro and turned to shakily bow to the man. "M...m…Mister Kaneki! I didn't see you there!" Kaneki sighs, looking down at the young Graduate with disdain. "Of course you didn't Takashi. Otherwise I might be losing my edge… Now get lost before I report this behaviour to the Principal". The Graduates all but run away in terror as Kaneki leans on the wall next to a bedraggled Noro. "Thanks sir". The Black Reaper smiles. "No problem Noro. How are your studies going?" Noro gives him a vague answer, saying that everything was just fine. Kaneki nods and stares up at the sky in silence. Noro discreetly inspects his teacher. Mr Kaneki was something of an Enigma to the students of CCG Academy. He has shown up when Noro was in his First Year with ID that gave away nothing other than the fact that he was CCG and given authority to teach here at the Academy. Noro genuinely liked the silent and reserved man. Mr Kaneki gave off an aura of command and experience. He taught Ghoul Biology and Quinque Training, as well as organising field trips to Cochlea and the CCG Headquarters. The young man had come to suspect that his teacher was once, or still was, a Ghoul Investigator. Many Investigators at both the Ghoul Prison and HQ greeted him by name. _I wonder what rank he was. Probably a senior rank. First Class maybe. Yeah that sounds about right._ He wore the investigators cloak instead of the standard staff uniform of the Academy, even though the Principal had asked him many times to not wear that clothing. Suddenly, Kaneki turns and looks at Noro. "What's your home life like Noro? What Ward do you come from?" Noro blinks. "Uh… The 9th Ward Sir. What about you?" Kaneki looks distant for a moment, as if reliving old memories. "I was born in the 20th Ward. But I live in an apartment in the 1st Ward. About 6 blocks from here". Noro raised an eyebrow discreetly. _He can afford to live in the 1_ _st_ _Ward? The Academy must pay handsomely._ "If you don't mind, could I borrow you for a special class this afternoon? Noro nods slowly. "Sure… what class is it?" Kaneki stands, heading for the staffroom. "I'm taking a group of selected students to Headquarters. I have some evaluations I need done". Noro waves him goodbye and sits down to eat his lunch. "Evaluation... Have I done something wrong?"

After 5th Period had ended, Noro excused himself from Investigative Processes Class and made his way to the Administrative Building. Kaneki was waiting in the front parking lot with a group of other students. Some of them he knew. Justin Amber was an American in Third Year who Noro spent many hours with during and out of class. Tashi Vaughn was possibly the Academy's' best student. She was an Assistant Investigator and was sure to be Valedictorian once the final exams were done. The others Noro knew little about, other than the fact that this group was made up of Thud Years, Graduates and Assistant Investigators. "If you're all ready to go, let's get over to Headquarters shall we?"

As the Academy bus parked outside the main lobby doors of the CCG's Headquarters, Noro and the others looked up in astonishment. Even though they had all seen it before, the sheer size of the building was awe inspiring. "Come on, we don't have time to gawk. Kaneki leads the way through the lobby and Reception, where the students are ushered into an elevator. As they fly downwards, Tashi asks their teacher where they're going. "Mr Kaneki sir? What exactly are we doing here?" Kaneki sighs. "Fine… I've been evaluating each student's abilities and skills, and I've chosen you lot to go to the next stage in this operation". He says nothing more as the elevator stops and they all file out into a long, whitewashed hallway. They walk along until they come to a doorway marked 'S0 R&D'. Kaneki steps inside and closes the door after the students come inside. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Doctor Shanzagi. He's the lead scientist on this S0 program". The Doctor smiles at the students. "Welcome to HQ people. Today you are here because Ken Kaneki here has deemed you all fit to become part of his division". Noro frowns. "Division? What does he mean sir?" Kaneki sighs. "In case any of you didn't know, I am a Ghoul Investigator myself. I have been put in charge of an important division that needs excellent recruits such as you guys". One of the Graduates folds his arms. "We aren't doing anything until you tell us everything… Sir". Kaneki smiles fractionally, honestly scaring many of the students. "I guess it's only fair… My name is Ken Kaneki, and I'm both your teacher at the Academy and a Special Class Investigator". Noro and the others gasp. "Wait… Sir. Are you the Black Reaper? The half-blood?" Kaneki sighs, his single Kakugan suddenly showing in his left eye, making some of the young students step back. "I'm sure you've heard rumours about me. Yes, I did defeat the traitor Kishou Arima. Yes I am an artificial half ghoul a=made by Dr Kanou. Yes I'm the leader of the S3 Division and the Reaper Squad, S0. Does that answer all the questions you all were about to ask?" The room is silent, the young adults only nodding dumbly. "Good. You're here because I need a specific process in choosing members for S0, the Reaper Saud. I'm saying that if you succeed in the coming evaluations… you will all become investigators by next week. You will enter the CCG as Rank 3 Investigators, though the Graduates and Assistants among you will be placed as Rank 2 Investigators. Any questions?" The stunned group is silent until Noro steps forward. "Are you saying that you'll have an Elite Unit… made up of junior investigators? Why wouldn't you choose other Special Classes or Associate Special Classes sir? "Because if you pass the standard I set, you'll all undergo Frame 10 surgery. You will have kakahou encased in a frame of Quinque Steel implanted in your bodies. I assume you all know of the Quinx Squad?" Tashi, Noro and the others nod dumbly. "You may also know that I was their first leader and Mentor. However, I wish to extend upon the Quinx Squad. You people will become the second generation of Quinx. Half Ghoul Investigators… But not ghoul enough to lose your humanity or taste for human food". Noro and the other students are surprisingly calm. "Ok. I accept your offer Mr Kaneki". Kaneki frowns and looks down at the man. "From now on it's Special Class Kaneki to you. Got it?" A chorus of 'Yes Sir!' shakes the room. Kaneki watches as the students file into the inner laboratory to begin their training, never to return to the academy. "I have a good feeling about this program. Quinx Mark IIs'… Yes. This will do nicely"… If this worked, then Kaneki and the S0 Division would have a team of highly trained and powerful investigators of Special Class Calibre at his command. "I hope you can see this is happening Kaiko… You'd better watch out". Suddenly he smacks his forehead. "I'm going to have to play this Haise style again aren't I? Damn. I'd gotten so used to acting myself again"… He smiles, knowing what Touka would say. _"You'll scare them off with your dark demeanour"…_ He walks out of the lab and heads upstairs to pay a visit to Juuzou.

Urie shields his eyes against the Berlin sunset as he steps out onto the balcony of their hotel. A hand clamps heavily down on his shoulder and he spins around, automatically going for his Quinque, which wasn't there. "Easy there Associate Special Class. I'm not the enemy here". Special Class Shinohara smiles at the leader of the Quinx Squad and ushers him back inside. "Sorry Special Class Shinohara. I just haven't gotten used to having a celebrity around is all". Shinohara frowns. "A celebrity? Surely being around Ken Kaneki would have banished those kind of thoughts Urie". Urie fails not to smile. "Yeah… I guess so". Nishio comes into the room with a newspaper and a bottle of expensive Belgian Beer. "Hey guys have you read today's top story yet? I think you might find it useful". Urie catches the paper mid-air and curses under his breath. "So this is where our funding is going? Expensive alcohol". Nishio grins. "You ever learn about the fact that Ghouls have better hearing than humans?" Urie gives him the finger and lowers his head to read the front page article Nishio had mentioned. **Gründer der CCG übernimmt das Kommando des Berliner Büros . Ehren Deutschland wiederhergestellt? (Founder of CCG takes command of Berlin Office. Germany's honour restored?)** "Shit". Urie reads over the article quickly. He leans back on the sofa, sighing loudly. "Old Gramps Washuu has taken command of the CCG's Berlin Office. Hell, I didn't even know we _had_ a Berlin Office". Mitsugi places his hands on the glass and looks at that very office in the distant city centre. "Kaneki had said he was well and truly involved with V. If we want to scout around this city, we're going to need to stay on the good side of the investigators here". Saiko also looks up from her reading of German tourist brochures and joins them at the sofa lounge. "We might as well say hi while we're here. I'm curious as to what this German CCG is like". She smiles for a moment, then immediately begins stuffing potato chips into her mouth. Urie screws up the paper and throws it towards the bin in the corner, but Nishio catches it, removing the front page and tucking the rest under his arm. "I'm going to read the sports news" he says, retreating to his bedroom. Urie sighs, pulls out his laptop and logs into the CCG webpage. He drags the menu down, selecting the Classified Files section, where he knew the interesting news from home would be. An article grabs his attention fairly quickly. He reads through it quickly, pushing the computer back and slumping over the edge of the couch. Shinohara drags over the laptop and begins reading it aloud. "Commander Washuu has just authorized the commencement of the Gen 2 Frame program, codenamed: Quinx Mark 2".Everyone in the room goes silent, listening in rapt attention. "Leading this program is Special Class Investigator Ken Kaneki, who is using the program as a means to structure his Reaper Squad, S0 Division. This will se a group of 6 students from the CCG Academy undergo intense evaluations, physical training, and mental methodology in order to discover if they are fit to go ahead with the new Quinx technology. This Quinx Mark 2 is based, of course, on the original Quinx Program. However, the first Quinx possessed 5 Quinque Steel frames surrounding the Kakahou, while the Quinx Mark 2 model will have 10 Quinque Steel frames. While these frames will be much thinner, allowing the technicians to come much closer to the line between human and ghoul, the successful candidates will undergo Frame 10 surgery, which will give them the average battle strength and prowess of an SS rated ghoul! This program is intended to be an extension of the original Quinx Program, so don't feel bad you guys in the Quinx Squad, you're about to get some younger siblings". As Shinohara finishes, Urie is shaking his head. "That bastard Kaneki. He's really trying to surpass Doctor Kanou isn't he?" The man is actually smiling underneath his words. Now he frowns. "Kanou must be shaking with rage. I'm sure he's accessed the article by now. But why bother? Kanou never managed to make a more successful One Eyed Ghoul than Kaneki"… He stands and goes to join Nishio in the bedroom who is fast asleep. "Better get some sleep people. We've got a long day tomorrow"….

Noro felt like he was in a dream, but he knew he wasn't. The truth was that he was lying on a cool metal table in a laboratory beneath the CCG headquarters. He can hear voices, but the obscure drugs the doctors had used on him prevented him much coherent thought. _"Are you sure this is the one?"_ A new voice approaches as if from across the world. _"I'm certain. The Special Class stated specifically that Noro Schneider was to be given 'that' Kakahou". "Fine. If it's all ready to go, let's begin"._ Noro feels an uncomfortable sensation slide into his chest as the technicians surrounding him insert the Kakahou of a ghoul into his body. His vision swims, and his entire world is swallowed whole by blackness. A distant shrieking sound causes Noro to open his eyes. He pants, looking around the room he stands in. White checked walls cover a circular atrium chamber. In the rooms centre, a young man sits tied to a wooden chair. His hair was snow white, and his nails were pure black. As Noro takes a step forward, the prisoner jerks his head up violently, clutching his ear. A slithering sound reverberates throughout the chamber and into Noros' own ears. _"Have you ever had... a Centipede in your ear?"_ The white haired man is looking straight at him. Noro takes a fearful step back. "Who…Who are you?" The prisoner sighs, and suddenly Noro is standing right next to him. _"You don't know me? I'm saddened, Noro Schneider"._ "I don't understand. Do I know you?" The prisoner laughs, and something slithers out of his ear onto the ground. A Chinese red centipede. Deadly. _"These are my memories Noro. If you're going to take on a piece of my Kakahou, you need to understand me completely…"_ Noro freezes. That voice was familiar somehow… The prisoner smiles now. _"Now we're getting somewhere… Do you feel it? Do you feel my pain?"_ A sharp, invasive sensation assaults Noro's brain, and he falls to his knees clutching his own head. "I feel it! I feel it please make it stop!" All of a sudden the pain disappears, replaced by the younger man again. The prisoner breaks out of his bonds, falling upon a corpse that lay at his feet. As Noro watches in horror, the familiar voice returns. _"Ghouls need to eat to survive… I had to learn this the hard way… I finally embraced my ghoul side, but discarded my humanity in doing so. Do not make the same mistakes Noro…"_ As he watches, the whit haired prisoner clutches the sides of his head as long, armoured Kagune rip out of his back. It looked disturbingly like a Centipede… The ghoul wreaks havoc with his Kakuja, ripping apart other ghouls and devouring them. _"I thought it would make me stronger… Oh how I was wrong…"_ The voice laughs in Noros' head as the scene changes to an underground sewer. The white haired prisoner is back, this time stumbling towards the grotesque field of bodies that lay at the feet of another white haired man. Noro whispers. "Kishou Arima…" The prisoner engages the Reaper in frenzied combat for a time, even damaging the infamous Quinque, Ixa. But at last the ghoul is defeated, stabbed through his single Kakugan with Ixa… _"And so my story ends… Or does it? I used to wish I died that day… What came next was… painful. I was chained. Changed, lied to and stolen from. My entire being was locked away under a false coating._ Again Noro's vison blackens and he is standing atop a tower. As he turns, the prisoner is still here, but now his hair is half black, and he wears the coat of a Ghoul Investigator. As the battle plays out, the investigator is beaten down and wounded badly. As he lay there, pinned against the wall by another ghoul, the voice returns. _"And so here we witness the final days of the false coat. Watch closely, for you will need this understanding if you are to survive…"_ Noro does as he is instructed and observes. The investigator's hair suddenly turns jet black. He jumps into the air and dismembers his attacker. The investigator looks wild, and a single Kakugan gleams in his left eye. Noro takes a step back as the One Eyed Owl leaps down and begins playfully battling the investigator. At last the Owl retreats, leaving the investigator alone. Another scene change, and now Noro is looking at the same man, albeit neater, before the entrance of Cochlea. The man now wore glasses, and a coat of black. Noro gaps. "No… Was this really… _your_ story? Mr Kaneki…" The vision sweeps away, leaving only blackness. Out of the darkness materialises the same man Noro had just witnessed. Ken Kaneki. "Do you understand me now, Noro?" The young student nods. "I.. think so. I'm having a part of your Kakahou implanted within me… and I'm going to be different to the other Quinx Mark 2's… Frame 10 surgery won't work on me correctly". Kaneki nods. "I'm glad you understand. With my Kakahou inside you, the Frame 10 Surgery won't succeed. Coming that close to ghoul hood with my ghoul side will push you over the edge into being the same as me. An artificial One Eyed Ghoul. My ghoul side once devoured my humanity, so I'm making sure you can keep a hold on your humanity. Only then will you be effective as my second in command…" Noro nods in affirmation. "But what will the CCG say? I won't be human with a ghouls Kagune. I'll be both human and _ghoul_ ". Kaneki shrugs and turns to dissolve back into the darkness. "They let me live didn't they? Don't worry kid. I'll be here when you wake up"… Noro gasps in a deep breath of air as light comes flooding back into his vision. He opens his eyes and thrashes in his bonds on the table. He could feel the ghoul part of him hungering for flesh, for blood. But his human side pushed it down, then stopped. _That won't work… Kaneki said I needed to understand… to accept"._ Noro suddenly has another vision. He is walking forward to shake the hand of the white haired Kaneki in the chamber. " _Let's go… We're in this together after all…"_ Noro suddenly feels a calm sort of equilibrium overcome his being. At last his ghoul side and his human side had synchronized. He opens his eyes again to stare into the faces of the technicians and doctors huddling against the wall in fear of another outburst. "It's ok doctors… I'm at peace". One of the doctors slowly unbinds him, letting Noro sit up on the bench. "What is it like? Having… you know". Noro looks at the screen the man was looking at. It showed the current RC levels of all the new Quinx. Many of the other students were listed high above the average RC level for a human. But him? Noro had an RC level of 2700… Above his own name was Ken Kaneki. His RC reading was read out by Noro himself. "3480 huh… What a guy. He has a higher RC cell count than most ghouls…" He turns to the technician who had spoken before. "It's…different. I can feel the ghoul part of me. But thanks to Kaneki, I've accepted the ghoul, but not abandoned my humanity… I feel. Strong"… As they are clapping each other on the back, Kaneki walks into the lab with the rest of the students. Taisha rushed over to Noro, taking his hand in her own. "Are you alright? I heard that they were doing a different method on you…" She stops talking as she sees his RC count on the screen. "You… you're actually part ghoul... Like Special Class Kaneki?" Noro nods. "Sure looks that way doesn't it?"…


	2. Chapter 2 - Taming the Beast

"Welcome to the Commission of Counter Ghoul. How may I help you today?" The receptionist in the lobby of the Berlin Office was an exasperated looking woman who was trying to appear civil. _Probably had one drink too many last night…_ Urie returns an equally false smile. "Good morning miss. We're from the Central Office". Still smiling, he takes his CCG Identification from his breast pocket. The woman's' lips move as she silently reads out his credentials. "Sir! I'll get the Commander down right away if you'll just wait in the lobby please". She scurries off into the office, grabbing a telephone and speaking frantically to someone on the other end of the line. The Quinx Squad, along with Shinohara and Nishio recline on the lounges set facing the massive windows overlooking downtown Berlin. As they wait, several employees and investigators whisper amongst themselves as news of investigators from the Central Headquarters spreads like wildfire. "Excuse me Sirs, the Commander is on his way down now". The receptionist hurries back to her desk as an elevator opens and a young, well-dressed man steps out and makes his way towards the group. Urie stands to greet him. "Ah guests! Welcome to Berlin my friends. I am Commander Bertholt of the German CCG. To whom do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Urie shakes the Commanders outstretched hand. "Sir, I am Associate Special Class Urie Kike. My companions here are First Class Mitsugi, First Class Saiko, and of course Special Class Shinohara". Bertholts' eyes widen a fraction as he realises he has quite the famous company. "I don't think there is anyone here who haven't heard of either the Quinx Squad or the famous Special Class Shinohara. I thought you had been honourably discharged Mr Shinohara…" Shinohara grins and also shakes the Commanders hand. "This old man isn't ready to quit just yet". The Commander ushers them back into their seats and takes a lounge chair opposite the group. "I'm sorry if things seem a little… disorganised at the moment, but our founder has just arrived and established himself here in Berlin. I'm sure you've already met him". Urie nods. "Well, Commander. I don't know if you are aware of this, but the Central branch of the CCG has enforced a ceasefire between it and the ghoul organisation Aogiri Tree". Bertholt's expression darkens momentarily. "Yes… Though I can't imagine why. Surely they had Aogiri on the ropes not long ago?" Urie shrugs. "What the higher ups decide is none of my concern. However, you may also be unaware of the existence of the manipulative ghoul organisation 'V', and its subsequent connection to the CCG and the Washuu Clan"… The German Commander raises an eyebrow. "What is this conspiracy you've delivered to my ears? The CCG involved with a ghoul organisation? Whatever for?" Shinohara intervenes. "What the Associate Special Class is trying to say is that the founder of the CCG who has just arrived here in Germany is working hand in hand with the enemy, has been since the beginning. That is why he was exiled from Japan". Bertholt leans back in his chair, hand on his chin. "This news is… concerning to say the least. If what you say is true, then that might indicate that Lord Washuu is retreating. Returning to V". Nishio claps his hands. "That's the stuff. You pieced together a puzzle that took most people years to decipher. No wonder you reached the rank of Commander". Bertholt frowns at Urie and Shinohara, as if to ask who this man was. Urie smiles. "This is Nishiki Nishio. He's travelling with us on the orders of Special Class Kaneki. Oh yeah, and he's a ghoul". The Commander's eyes widen as he looks Nishio up and down, the ghoul letting his Kakugan show clearly while grinning at the man. "A pleasure to meet you sir". "A Ghoul… Why on earth did you let a ghoul in here?" Nishio tuts. "Cool it man. I'm not going to eat you for god's sake". He goes to sit in the chair next to the distraught man who cringes slightly. Urie leans forward, ready to placate affairs. "Don't worry Commander. Nishio here is a…. Informant for the CCG. Commander Washuu allowed him to accompany us on this trip". He folds his arms. "You see, the CCG has a vastly reorganised system in dealing with ghouls since the ceasefire. We still eliminate ghouls as usual. But only if they possess malicious intent or are a threat to the public". Bertholt nods slowly, becoming accustomed to the idea. "Ok… Anyway, what exactly do you plan to do while you're here?" Urie shrugs. "Snoop around, ask a few questions here and there while trying to make connections into any ghoul organisations here in Berlin". The Commander blusters in his face suddenly. "But how will you manage to do that? From the sounds of recent events in Tokyo, the ghouls here are going to be just as violent towards investigators as they used to be in Japan". Urie grins wickedly. "Is that all you're worried about? Simple. You forget that we of the Quinx aren't ordinary investigators". As he says this, both his team and the Associate Special Class show their single Kakugan eyes. "We are human investigators who have allowed ourselves to undergo surgery that had the kakahou of ghouls implanted within us and coated in Quinque Steel to let us keep our humanity while having the Kagune and other abilities of a ghoul"…

Noro wiped the sweat from his brow as he gets up from the padded training mat to face Kaneki again. "Shit… I can't even scratch him yet he hasn't even broken a sweat. It's not human"… He smiles at his own unintended pun. _I guess I'm still too human to match him yet._ The rest of the second generation of Quinx watches from the sidelines, their own sparring matches already complete. Though they were all superior to the original Quinx on paper, the Special Class has explained to them that there was a vast gap in their level of experience. For the last four weeks since their surgery, the 'Zenith Quinx' as they had been codenamed, had undergone intense physical training. This included; Expert Quinque Instruction, Undercover Operations, Sparring Matches and One on One talks with Kaneki. Noro and Kaneki had been sparring for at least 20 minutes and both combatants were still fighting strong. Eren Hakari, another Zenith Quinx, cheered Noro on as he got back to his feet after a particularly brutal blow to the shoulder from Kaneki's kick. As he spits out blood, Kaneki looks at him disapprovingly. "What a waste… Don't you know how Ghouls rejuvenate themselves?" Noro looks at his superior quizzically until it dawns on him. "Damn… I'm a fool". He laughs, spitting more blood into his palm and licking it all up. Swallowing in disgust, he's surprised at how good it tastes in his mouth. Noro flexes his arm, feeling strength surge back into his body. He launches a series of sharp jabs and kicks towards Kaneki who dodges all but one, Noro's last kick landing hard on his arm that had been thrown up to deflect the blow. As Noro pants, Kaneki nods in approval now. "Very good, all of you. I think it's time that you show me your skill with a Kagune". The Zenith Quinx murmur amongst themselves. They hadn't yet had the opportunity to release their Kagune, and now the prospect unnerved them. "Go on, I won't bite". Taisha is the first to growl, unleashing her Kagune with miraculous ease. Her thick, purple Bikkaku tail contrasts with her jet black uniform. "Don't go easy on me sir". She whispers as she launches herself through the air. Kaneki lashes out with his two Quinque, the look of surprise on Taisha's face betraying her uncertainty. But she doesn't stop to take the blow directly. Instead she darts to the side of Kaneki, using her own Kagune to slide along the length of the room until she stands directly in front of the Special Class, grinning as she thrusts her Kagune forward to hit him in the chest. Kaneki moves with impossibly fast reflexes, twirling around the young woman while using his outstretched arm limb to crush her body until she goes limp. As he releases her, Taisha rubs her ribs painfully. Kaneki turns to the rest of the squad. "Rank 2 Taisha here did very well. She didn't hesitate to alter the battlefield to her advantage. Her only mistake was overconfidence once she stood before me. Never try to second guess your opponent. Anticipate their movements instead". He folds his arms, speaking casually as the rest of the young investigators lash out at him with their respective Kagune. "Now I know you all have been doing your own low level assignments…" Noro, who stood back as the others continuously tried to find an opening, raised an eyebrow. "And how did you know that sir? We all thought we were being quite discreet". Kaneki smiles knowingly. "Because I orchestrated it. I intentionally set you all up for operations. As some of you may or may not know, Promotion season is coming up, and I want as many Rank 1 Investigators in this squad as possible. You will surpass the efforts of even Kishou Arima in your rise among the ranks". He suddenly lashes out with Yoshimura and sends the rest of the Zenith Quinx members sprawling. "On that note, I have some good news for you all. I'm sending you all on your first real operation". This brings a hearty round of people clapping each other on the back. Someone attempts to do the same to Noro but he brushes it off. _I know how Special Class Kaneki thinks… This isn't going to be glorious is it?_ Kaneki looks at his and nods imperceptibly. _You've certainly been inside my head Noro. But this is necessary. They need to learn that being an investigator is not just medals and glory…_ Noro's eyes widen. "Did you just... Talk to me without words?" Kaneki smiles and shrugs. "You juniors will be accompanying me and Special Class Suzuya on a reconnaissance mission in a suspected outpost that V uses for its communication with their agents above ground. Under no circumstances are you to use what I'm about to give you unless either Juuzou or I permit it". He walks over to a locked chest in the corner of the sparring room. He pulls out 6 Quinque briefcases in all. One for each of the Zenith Quinx. "These Quinque are all made from the same Kakahou sample, donated by myself…." As the young investigators gasp in surprise, Kaneki starts chucking a briefcase to each Quinx. "Go on. They're my gift to all of you". Noro and a few others open the cases, a long blade springs into his hand. The sword was a Rinkakku type Quinque that could be used as an extremely effective blade at close range and could transform into a series of super-fast tentacle like blades that could change direction and shape. Kaneki continues the instruction. "Being Quinque made from my own Kakahou, it is a SSS Rinkakku type sword that has another stage of release. This second stage, however, is of no concern to any of you right now. I suggest you learn how to use them. These are the only other SSS rated Quinque besides my own Reiyuza and Yoshimura, and they aren't easy to use". The Special Class Investigator promptly turns on his heel, exiting the training centre. "Get some rest tonight people. I want you all in the Quinx Lobby 5 am sharp". Noro and Taisha stand together as everyone else begins to pack their gear and head off towards their dormitories. "He really is something else isn't he?" Taisha sighs, shaking her head. Noro raises an eyebrow. "What's on your mind?" The Rank 2 Investigator smiles faintly. "Mr... Special Class Kaneki… He had his eyes trained on me the entire time I thought I had the jump on him. He _let_ me get that close in order to make a point". Noro nods in sympathetic understanding. "The Special Class is so far above us in prestige, experience, knowledge and rank but still devotes his time to the Zenith Quinx, a bunch of kids who never even graduated the Academy. I've been inside his head. I know what happened to him in the past and I think that made him stronger and wiser… I'd pay attention to the advice he gives if I were you"… Taisha says her farewells and Noro is left standing in the Training Centre alone…


	3. Chapter 3 - Sorrowful Poet

It was a warm summer night in the city of Tokyo and the moon had eclipsed in full glory, plunging the world into darkness. This benefited the Zenith Quinx Squad greatly as they silently flanked the S2 Division moving down the empty street. At the street's end stood a lonely, dilapidated tower. This was the Aqua Building in the 20th Ward, and a suspected communications outpost of V. Kaneki was leading the right flanking party with Noro, Taisha and a few other Zenith Quinx. Remaining in constant contact with Juuzou's share of the Zenith's on the left, they guarded the main force against any possible assailants hidden in the dark. Kaneki comes to a stop on top of a small, forested hill overlooking the Aqua Building. "Special Class Kaneki, the leader of the S2 has confirmed the sighting of an unidentified ghoul in the main entrance. Shall we commence the attack?" Noro waited for an answer as Kaneki looks up at the building, his eyes closed. "It's time. We have this area surrounded so send in Haisaki and Jaeger Squads. Juuzou's Squad and the other Zenith Quinx are to perform an insertion on the 15th floor". Noro scurries off to relay his orders as Kaneki observes the requested squads moving into position. Haisaki Squad, headed by Associate Special Class Fura Haisaki whose father commanded the Cochlea forces, was technically not permitted to be involved in this raid, but Kaneki had overruled the order, reasoning that Haisaki was a talented investigator who had a crack team of Rank 1's and First Class officers at his disposal. Associate Special Class Shuma Jaeger was also an excellent investigator, trained by Kaneki himself. The black haired man nods. "This will do nicely for a breach and clear of the first 10 floors". As the two squads run for the entrance and the lone ghoul guarding it, Haisaki stops, holding up a hand and proceeding forward alone. As he comes close enough to make out the features of the ghoul, he stops in his tracks. "No way… It can't be possible"… The ghoul was very well dressed in a tailored suit and a distinctive mole under his left eye gave away his identity immediately. "Nimura Furata… I thought you had been disposed of". The infamous agent of V smiled and waggled a finger at Haisaki. "That's no way to treat an old friend is it Fura Haisaki. It seems you were promoted twice since I last saw you. Bravo". Haisaki glares at the ghoul and raises his hand, indicating that the target was a kill on site order for his squad. Furata grins and pulls a mask from his pocket, fitting it onto his face with one hand. The mask was a typical Clown Troupe mask, showing his involvement with one more ghoul organisation. "I couldn't possibly allow my life to be taken by such a crude method. That wouldn't be very poetic would it now?" He looks straight at Kaneki, as if the ghoul could see him through the tree line and darkness. "As the Clowns say, we always get the last laugh". He raises both arms in the air as Haisaki's squad raise their Quinque, ready to strike the man down when Furata's purple Koukaku Kagune appears on both of his arms, revealing that he possessed two Koukaku limbs. A First Class investigator standing with his B rated Quinque next to Haisaki takes a step back. "What the fuck?" He doesn't get the opportunity to say anything further before Haisaki shoves him out of the way of Furata's Kagune while blocking the attack himself. "First Class Nagachaka, take the others and breach into the main lobby, you too Associate Special Class Jaeger. I'll keep him busy here". The other Associate nods and leads both Haisaki's and her own squads around Furata into the building. Furata smiles and lands in front of Shuma. "Where do you think you're going miss? I haven't given anyone permission to enter yet". He is interrupted by a blast from Haisaki's Ukkaku Quinque, Berlsa, whose red wave of energy cuts through the ghouls flesh. Haisaki smiles as he watches Furata glare at him as the rest of the squads make it inside. As he looks up, Juuzou's Squad and the rest of the Zenith Quinx launch zip lines from a building across the street into the 15th floor windows. "You and V are finished here Rank 1 Furata. We've already gotten inside and you aren't leaving this place alive". Furata puffs out his cheeks and utters a long, low whistle. "I wouldn't be so happy for your comrades. They might get more than they bargained for inside…" He looks at the investigator and smiles again. "But forget all that. Let's have some fun shall we?" He drives both his Kagune into the cement, causing a long chasm to open that raced towards Haisaki who leaps out of the way a moment before the ground he had stood on disappeared. "Nice dodge, but can you dodge what you can't see?" Haisaki's eyes widen as a Kagune limb bursts out of the ground behind him and impales him through the chest. "What the..." He can't speak as blood gushes from both his wound and his mouth. Furata skips up to him as he drops his Quinque and falls to his knees. "Aww that was no fun at all. Is this all you had? The CCG has really gone to shit since Mr Kishou and I left hasn't it?" He raises his Kagune for one last strike as Haisaki looks up at him through rage filled eyes. "It's…all your fault". Furata frowns and leans closer. "Hmm? What was that?" Haisaki grasps the ghoul's leg in a painful grip that even makes Furata wince. "Because of what you did… my mother… _is dead!"_ He takes his Quinque and slices Furata's thigh, making the ghoul jump back and howl in pain. "Ahh damn! That hurt you little shit. So what if I killed your mother? I remember you know. The look she had on her face as I ate first her brother then your mother! What can I say? After my encounter with Special Class Kaneki I was… hungry". Noro watches the encounter from his position with Kaneki and Taisha. Kaneki suddenly lays his hand on Noro's shoulder. "If nobody does anything soon, Associate Special Class Haisaki is going to die. We can't afford to be held up here any longer. The rest of the S2 has to advance". Noro looks at his superior. "Aren't you going to fight Furata?" The Special Class smiles and shakes his head. "No I'm not… You are". Noro splutters as Kaneki pushes him down the hill. Noro rolls painfully until he hits street level, right in front of Furata and Haisaki. Haisaki glares at the nervous looking Rank 2. "Rank 2 Schneider what are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Noro suddenly feels a strange calm. Confidence in himself flows into his heart. He stands up and faces Furata who looks at him with some amusement. "Not if I can help it I won't". He cracks his neck, moving slowly in a circle around the ghoul. "From the smell of you, I'm assuming you're one of the new Quinx right? What is my dear Kaneki thinking? Sending out young, inexperienced children to do his dirty work hmm?" Noro says nothing and continues circling to the right. He was waiting for the signal from Kaneki to authorize the use of his Quinque. A sudden, short burst of static comes in his mike. _"This is Special Class Kaneki. I'm authorizing Rank 2 Schneider to use his Quinque as he sees fit!"_ Noro smiles and Furata frowns. "What's there to be happy about Rank 2 Schneider? You're about to meet your maker!" He lashes out with his Kagune, both Koukaku limbs homing in on Noro in a pincer manoeuvre. Noro suddenly unclips his briefcase, his Quinque springing into his hand. He ducks under the Kagune coming from the left, and deflects the limb inbound from the right with his blade. Furata pauses, looking at the Quinque with interest. "I'm afraid it's going to take a lot more than an S rated Quinque to bring me down boy!" He leaps forward, but his eyes widen in shock as Noro streaks forward, using both hands to slice through Furata's side. The ghoul grunts in pain, then suddenly twists mid-air, his Kagune twirling together in order to pierce Noro's chest. Noro smiles and clicks a button on the hilt of the Quinque, causing it to morph into a mass of writhing tentacles, each limb streaking out and going different directions until they impale Furata through the chest. Noro retracts his Quinque into sword form as Furata drops to his knees, just as Haisaki had done before. Noro looks down at the infamous agent of both V and the Clowns as the ghoul struggles to speak. "Your powers of deduction failed you this time Nimura Furata. This is the SSS class Rinkakku Quinque, Centipede…" Furata's eyes widen. "That crazy bastard… He armed you all with Quinque made from his own Kakahou? Damn… I hadn't betted on you being such an accomplished swordsman… You remind me of both Kaneki and Arima…" Kaneki leaps down from the hillside with Taisha. "Good work Noro. I told you that you could do it". Noro nods, and looks back at Furata lying in a pool of his own blood. "What will you do with him?" He is about to turn around when Furata lets out a monstrous scream. His Kagune reforms and begins coating his body, his face is engulfed by a twisted mask that shows gleaming white teeth. _"What will you do with me Kaneki? I've been preparing for the day we battled again since I escaped! I've done the forbidden just to gain my own Kakuja in order to devour YOU!"_ He leaps up and runs with incredible speed towards Noro, his clawed, armoured hands dripping with black blood. _"I think I'll start with this little runt first!"_ Noro steps back in a panic, he didn't have enough time to counter with his Quinque. He closes his eyes, thinking this was the end. A thudding sound rang inside Noro's ears, like the sound of Kagune hitting Kagune. As he opens his eyes, Kaneki is leaping forward, his own Kagune a Jet Black. The Special Class shapes his Kagune into a blade witch slices Furata's Half Kakuja mid-air. The ghoul drops to the cement in two pieces, his upper half still twitching. "So…this is it then, Kaneki?" Nimura Furata dies with a smile on his face as Kaneki lets his Kagune dissipate before asking if Noro was unharmed. Noro said he was fine and the Special Class gives the order for the rest of S2 to advance before strolling towards the entrance of the Aqua Building himself. Taisha stays behind and helps Noro to his feet. "Are you ok? That was one hell of a battle you know…" Noro looks at the scene around him through hazy vision. Furata's body was being gathered and thrown into the back of an ambulance to be taken to the Cochlea disposal plant. Associate Special Class Haisaki was being attended to by medical staff. "I thought he was finished after I attacked him with Centipede… If it hadn't been for Special Class Kaneki I would have been dead by now". Taisha nods. "I can't believe how fast he took out Furata, and he was in Kakuja form too! That would normally take more than 4 Special Class investigators to even subdue, let alone eliminate…" Noro rubs his eyes. "I just realised I've never seen his Kagune before now. Did you see its colour? That's the only Black Kagune that I know of". Taisha shrugs, and begins to walk towards the Aqua Building with Noro. "I don't know. Do you think it has something to do with him always wearing those red gloves? You've seen his memories right?" Noro shakes his head. "I've seen his past yes, but he's a very different person in so many ways now. I know he had a Half Kakuja, like Furata did. He cannibalized other ghouls in order to get it and become stronger. But now? I don't know"...

Juuzou and his squad had zip lined into the 15th floor but had yet to encounter any ghouls. The whole place was deserted. The Special Class investigator cocks is head to the side, his middle three fingers on his right hand in his mouth. "I wonder what's going on. From what you tell me Rank 1 Vorchele, Kaneki-san has already eliminated Furata and is in the lobby as we speak. But why is there no resistance up here?" Rank 2 Redwood, and American and a member of the Zenith Quinx raised his hand. "Sir? What if the ghouls are waiting? We were certain we saw movement inside the tower before we breached. They might just be hiding". Juuzou smiles. "You just might be right Red-kun. Let's test your theory shall we? Rank 1 Vorchele, take the rest of our squad and search the floor below us. I'll take the Zenith Quinx…"

Kaneki stands in the entryway of the modern looking lobby. Associate Special Class Jaeger stood next to him, her squad searching the bottom floor. The rest of S2 were gathered in the main hall beyond the reception area where Kaneki and the rest of his party stood. "Nothing to report so far Special Class. The ground floor looks clear". Kaneki nods absently. His heat of the moment decision to eliminate Furata had surprised even himself. "Good. Let's proceed with the operation". He and Shuma walk into the main hall where the S2, Noro and Taisha await their new orders. A slight sound heard by both Noro and Kaneki cause the two men to simultaneously turn towards the source, Noro aiming Centipede ready to morph, Kaneki aiming with Reiyuza. The S2 fall quiet as Shuma and Taisha run over to the two investigators. "What is it Special Class Kaneki?" Shuma is pushed back as the sound of footsteps echo throughout the silent hall. A masked figure wearing pinstriped pants, black loafers, and a tacky dinner jacket walks out onto one of the balconies overlooking the hall. Kaneki now unsheathes Yoshimura and also aims it at the stranger. The oddly dressed stranger holds up his hands for peace. "Now now. I don't believe any of you Doves have the right to start shooting considering you barged in here uninvited like this". Noro swears. "Another Clown…Fuck". Kaneki stares down the Clown and sheathes his Quinque. "Very well. If that's the way you want to play this, then would you mind telling me why you're harbouring a fugitive? Also, why are you here?" The ghoul scratches his chin, the beak shaped mask he wore seemed to draw the light away from his face. "You mean Furata? I placed him outside in case something like this happened. Don't tell me you hurt him did you?" Kaneki continues to gaze coldly at the ghoul. "Nimura Furata is dead. As for my second question, unless you give me a damn good reason not to wipe the Clowns out of existence, I'm going to fulfil my objective of securing this outpost of V". The Clown ghoul stops inspecting his nails and looks down at Kaneki. "What do you mean V? We have nothing to do with them… As for Furata, I'm sorry to hear that he's gone…" "Stop fucking with me!" Noro suddenly lashes out with Centipede. The Clown ghoul sidesteps out of the way, grasping the Quinque in his hand. "Ouch that's hot. Wait a minute… This is oddly familiar…" He looks down at Kaneki and Noro. "Who are you, Ghoul Investigator?" Taisha steps forward and aims her own identical Quinque at the ghoul. "Special Class Kaneki doesn't need to answer to you!" "Kaneki…? Ken Kaneki?" He tugs his mask off to the side, revealing a two Kakugan and a tattoo written in Latin around his neck. Kaneki's mouth drops open fractionally. "I can neither live with you…" "Or without you" Uta finishes. "Uta… I always suspected you were a member of the Clowns. Now I know for sure". Uta jumps down a lands lightly in front of Kaneki. Several investigators release their Quinque and are about to attack when Kaneki raises a hand. "Stop". He walks towards Uta who takes him in an embrace. "I thought for sure you had died back then, but when I saw you fighting Takizawa at the Auction, I had to admit that this story wasn't over yet". He steps back, looking Kaneki up and down. "Now, why exactly are you charging in on a Clown Conference?" Kaneki raises his eyebrows. "A Conference? If I weren't so open minded… and half ghoul, I'd surely eliminate all of you. But that's not why we are here. I have reason to believe that V is… or was using the Clowns as a cover for their operations". Uta scratches his scalp quizzically. "That's impossible. Are you saying that Furata was working for the Clowns, the CCG _and V?"_ The Special Class nods. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Look. I don't know what your involvement in the Clowns is and frankly I'm not bothered. The Clowns are healthy for Tokyo as far as anyone who isn't V is concerned". He takes Uta over to a quiet corner behind a pillar. "If you can help me create a diversion with my men, I can draw any other agents from V out for you. I'm hoping that if we capture one of them they can tell us the location of V's headquarters". Uta's eyes widen but he smiles. "That sure is a bold plan you have there Kaneki. I think I can get some masks for you, maybe a new suit to go with your new body building physique". He winks as he retreats into the darkness. "By the way, you might want to tell your friends upstairs not to do anything stupid ok? I'll be back in a moment". Kaneki walks back out into the main hall and addresses the S2 Division. "Listen up investigators. All of you are remain here and engage in a mock battle with the Clowns". Haisaki limps forward and raises his hand. "What do you mean Special Class? I thought the Clowns were the enemy?" Kaneki frowns at the sight of Haisaki, thinking he should be resting his injuries. "I don't know if you've noticed, but in recent years, nobody knows who the real enemy is. The Clowns are our allies, for now. So make it look realistic but please don't kill anyone ok?" A chorus of assent carries throughout the hall. Kaneki takes Noro, Taisha, and 4 other Zenith Quinx to the side and hands them each a black trench coat much similar to his own. "This is our squad's uniform so wear it with pride". Noro notices the hoods attached to the coats. _This is the same as the old Arima Squad uniforms…_ He shrugs it on, pleased at how well it fit him and the others. "Now listen up. While the S2 is staging this mock battle, you need to know that it's a distraction only. Do you know why?" Noro nods in understanding. "You hope for us to go undercover as Clowns in order to locate and draw out any agents of V with the Clown Troupe". Kaneki smiles. "Correct. Uta is coming back with some clothing to disguise us. While the Clowns are engaging the S2, any agents will be at ease thinking that no doves will be coming from this way. But they will move in on Juuzou's squad and the rest of the Zenith Quinx. We need to get to them before those agents do because if they find them, they'll surely bring in Cleaners to finish them off". Noro and the others nod, not exactly knowing what Kaneki planned to do about it. Uta suddenly reappears with striped colourful suits, hats, masks and wigs. "Put these on quickly. My men are in position now. Kaneki raises an eyebrow. " _Your men?_ It seems the Clowns have a leader after all". Kaneki and the others quickly put the clothes on over their uniforms, donning the wigs over their hoods and masks over their faces. Uta smiles at them. "Now you really look the part Kaneki. Go get em!" He winks and disappears once more into the darkness. At the same time, countless Clowns appear in the balconies above the main hall and begin to rain fake attacks down on the investigators below. Kaneki points to a rusty elevator and ushers everyone inside. Pushing the button for the 15th floor, they wait while the awkward elevator music filters into the cabin. Once they arrive, Kaneki instructs them to act calm and follow him. The 15th floor was all but abandoned until the squad encounter another Clown crouched on the ground examining some footprints. He looks up at the team as they approach. "What are you doing here? I thought everyone was downstairs helping fend off the doves?" Kaneki stops next to the Clown. "Yes I know and I was on my way down when I found these tracks. Look at the boots, there are Ghoul Investigators up here". Noro can literally hear Kaneki's thoughts as he stares down the darkened hallway. _There's no way an average ghoul could track so efficiently. He's an agent for sure._ "If that's the case then I'll join you. We were only on patrol anyway. The agent grumbles and tells them to follow him. They stalk down the hallway until they come to an open doorway. "This is it. The doves are inside" the agent whispers as he kicks the door in, revealing Juuzou's team. The Special Class was standing at the window with Rank 2 Redwood and Rank 1 Vorchele. Juuzou scratches the back of his head as the agent releases his Kagune and Kaneki with his squad, still in disguise, spread out behind the agent. "Well shit. I got us into trouble again didn't I?"…


	4. Chapter 4 - Desperation

**A/N: Dear readers,**

 **I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to upload. I've been quite busy with moving house and other things, plus I was unable to find inspiration for this chapter for ages. But now it's done and I think you'll love it. I feel the need to remind everyone that the name Tokyo Ghoul® and all characters, factions, and other aspects featured in the Anime/Manga is canon and therefore property of the glorious author Ishida Sui. The rest is mine however :3 Anyway, enjoy this new chapter and I hope you stick with me till the end :P**

Juuzou instructs Vorchele and Redwood to step behind him. The Clowns had spread out over the doorway and were leering menacingly at the investigators.

"Well if it isn't a flock of Doves. I think it's time we quit this silly game no?"

The agent unleashes his Kagune and sweeps it in a huge arc to towards Juuzou's team. Juuzou jumps up, slicing into the Kagune with his knives. Though piercing the flesh, his Quinque are unable to dismember the limb.

Kaneki motions for his team to follow his lead and proceeds to leap forward, aiming a devastating kick towards Juuzou's head which the investigator dodges with ease. The other disguised Zenith Quinx stage mock attacks against the team of cornered investigators with their Kagune, forcing Juuzou to order a retreat. The agent smiles behind his mask.

"I think it's time I called in a few… friends. Don't be alarmed guys. These people are with me".

He lets out a high pitched whistle and drives his Kagune into the floor. Several robed ghouls jump out of the hole followed by a white haired man wearing a ghoul investigators coat.

"Kishou Arima…" Juuzou frowns unhappily at the sight of the defected Special Class investigator.

"I really wish we were still on the same side you know. Now I'm going to have to sacrifice myself aren't I?"

He waves his arm back at his own squad and the other Zenith Quinx.

"Get out of here! Take a zip line, jump out I don't care".

Redwood stands his ground. "I'm not leaving you behind sir. That's not what being an investigator is about".

Juuzou smiles sadly at the Rank 2. "This is an order from your superior dammit. If you stay here, you're going to die ok? Now get lost".

As the American hesitantly backs away and retreats via the rear stairs with the other investigators, Juuzou turns back to face the Reaper.

"I guess I've just gotta buy them some time then hmm"… He suddenly picks up a discarded Quinque briefcase, revealing that he still possessed the S rated Quinque "Jason".

Wielding the Scythe above his head, Juuzou streaks towards Arima, cutting through some of V's cleaners as he clashes with Arima's Ixa. The Reaper effortlessly deflects the attack, slashing the Special Class from shoulder to hip in one clean swipe of Narukami.

Juuzou stumbles backwards, landing on the hard floor and sighing sadly. "I couldn't even scratch him…"

He looks up at Arima who raises Narukami for a final strike. Kaneki approaches Arima from behind and bows. "What would you have us do sir?"

Arima says nothing, and Kaneki along with the others cast aside their Clown disguises. Their Investigator uniforms revealed, some of V's Cleaners jump back. Kaneki smiles as he senses his squad fanning out in a semicircle behind him.

Arima turns to find the source of the disturbance and watches as the Zenith Quinx stand around Kaneki in their hooded trench coats and draw their identical Centipede Quinque.

The Reaper gives a rare comment. "I see you've been busy Ken Kaneki. You created your own Arima Squad…"

Kaneki smiles sardonically at the infamous Kishou Arima. "It's been a long time Arima. It looks like V has been treating you well"…

The Reaper glares at his rival, motioning for his Cleaners to retreat back down the hole. As the man turns to leave, the Kaneki Squad simultaneously attacks the ghouls, near immediately annihilating them. Kaneki dives for Arima, both of them tumbling down through 15 floors into the towers basement.

As Kaneki stands up and faces Arima, his squad flutter down from above, remaining silent and stoic behind the Special Class. Arima frowns, then shrugs, as if coming to a decision. He drives Ixa into the ground beneath them, a huge chasm opening beneath the combatants and plunging them all into eternal darkness…

Kaneki grabs hold of Arima and the two men struggle as they plummet. Eventually they land on a cold, hard surface. Kaneki hits his shoulder as he lands, rolling his shoulders as he gets to his feet. Arima stands next to an open doorway, watching the other Zenith Quinx get to their feet. Noro, Taisha and Redwood stand behind Kaneki, still with their hoods up.

Kaneki calmly walks up to Arima, cocking his head. "Have you decided to take us to your masters?"

Arima nods imperceptibly "Yes".

Kaneki sighs. "You're even colder than me Kishou Arima… Not one for words are you?"

Arima ignores him, instead spinning on his heel and walking through the marble doorway into a massive assembly hall beyond. Noro's eyes dart around nervously, his face hidden by his hood. He closes his eyes, and imagines speaking with Special Class Kaneki in his mind.

" _This is it isn't it? The headquarters of V…"_

Kaneki shakes his head a fraction so only Noro notices.

" _Not their headquarters. Most likely one of many meeting places they use"._

As the two investigators converse, Arima suddenly stops and gives a respectful bow towards a masked individual sitting upon a throne like structure. Kaneki strolls forward to stand by the bowed form of Arima and stares coldly up at the figure.

"So we meet at last…Kaiko..."

Kaiko, ultimate enigma of both the human and ghoul worlds, and the leader of V, looked down at Kaneki and the others from his throne.

"Ken Kaneki. I've been waiting a long time to meet you in person. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Kishou here seems to have judged you worthy of coming here".

Kaneki flicks a stray hair out of his eye and continues to almost glare at the man.

"To what do you owe hmm? Perhaps it's the countless lives that have been lost for your sake. Or maybe the constant state of war between humans and ghouls, a reality that _you_ fabricated for them. I just don't know Kaiko… I don't know what to say to you"…

Kaiko stares at the Black Reaper for a moment, then smiles. "I'd love to say I know nothing about those claims of yours, but alas, it was all for the greater good, one might say".

Noro lays a restraining hand on Kaneki's shoulder as the man tenses up.

"Oh don't be like that Ken Kaneki. You know as well as I that in order to get anywhere in this world of ours, sacrifices must be made".

Kaiko steps down from his throne and begins to pace back and forth over the polished marble surface.

"Akhira Kanou has a saying does he not? _"This world is like a twisted birdcage"_. If only he knew that the very organisation he has sold his soul to is the source of that birdcage…"

He stops smiling and strolls slowly towards Kaneki, who clenches his fists while staring at the ground.

"I still don't understand Kaiko. About V… About what you're trying to do with us all…"

He looks up at the leader of V and glares. "So all I can do for now is to continue to oppose you. The Clowns are now out of your reach. It seems that you didn't know that I was close associates with their leader. So there _are_ some things you don't know eh?"

Kaiko stops smiling and frowns, stepping back a fraction.

"Ah… I see. So this is why you created the conditions in which to meet me… You wanted to know the extent of my intelligence. You're a shrewd one Ken Kaneki, however".

He tips his hat towards Arima standing a close distance away.

"You seem to misunderstand the situation you're in right now. You may have bested the Reaper once before, but once is not absolute… and my interest in you has ceased. Die, Ken Kaneki. You won't leave this place alive".

As he turns to leave, all the other masked members of V file out also. Kaiko clicks his fingers, and countless numbers of Cleaners jump down from the oblivion above the hall. Arima raises Ixa and walks between Kaneki's squad and the exit. Kaneki smiles at Noro behind him.

"Don't worry. Take the others back a safe distance. You're the most capable of taking out those Cleaners okay?"

Noro nods shakily and retreats to the far end of the hall with Redwood, Taisha and the other Zenith Quinx with the Cleaners in pursuit. Kaneki turns around as Arima removes Narukami from its case. The Reaper faces Kaneki with a calm that had always unnerved him.

"So here we are Haise. Facing each other in battle once more…"

Kaneki glares at the Reaper while removing his spectacles. "I preferred you when you didn't talk to me at all. Didn't you say you don't talk to ghouls?"

Arima says nothing, instead raising Nazukami and firing a thunderous round of lightning at Kaneki who dodges it with ease.

"No matter. I noticed that you still call me Haise. I guess that my betrayal of you hit a nerve then…"

Arima flinches fractionally before leaping forward while swinging Nazukami in its blade form. Kaneki raises his arm to block it, but the Quinque slices right through his flesh, severing the arm….

Urie leans around the corner of the cobbled street lane blanketed by darkness. He signals for Saiko, Mutsuki and the other Quinx to proceed into the area. Shinohara and Nishiki bring up the rear, with Urie shoving them into the alley.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Shinohara asks Urie as he crouches low on the ground, inspecting something.

Urie cracks his neck to the left, tightening his gloves. "Yeah I'm sure. Commander Bertholt gave me his full support. He wouldn't lie to us now".

Nishiki leans against the stone cold wall of the small street, lighting a cigarette.

"He's right you know. I can smell my own kind around this area. The local ghouls must gather here often".

Urie smiles. "Good… Then all we need to do is lie low and wait for one of those bastards to show up for dinner… Mitsugi?"

Mitsugi looks up from the whispered conversation he was having with Saiko.

"What?"

"You're going to be acting as damsel in distress ok? Lure them out so we can trap them".

Mitsugi sighs, twirling his Quinque knives by the hilts.

"Fine. As long as I can bag the first kill…"

Urie starts in surprise. He still wasn't accustomed to Mitsugi's newfound strength and resolve. He turns and looks him in the eye.

 _What happened to you on that island with Torso? We never found his body, so we assumed he had died fighting the CCG… Did you kill him?_

He nods, then orders the rest of the squad to get into overwatch positions. Settling down next to Shinohara, he breathes out into the cold night air.

"Now it's time to wait…"

Mitsugi spends the next hour covered in a heavy raincoat, shivering in a corner. To any ghoul he would indeed look like a tasty snack. Urie is pondering this as a man dressed in tattered Khakis and an LA Lakers T-Shirt peeks his head around the corner and breathes in deeply.

"This is the place. I smell some good meat here boys".

As he motions behind him, a whole gang of other males crowds into the alley with Mitsugi as he steps out towards them.

"H…Hello? Can you help me?"

The leader grins at what he sees as a helpless human girl.

"Of course… Come here sweetheart, I'll take good care of you".

As he reaches out to grab Mitsugi, he grasps his Quinque, Scorpion, in his fingertips and slices upwards with all his strength. The Quinque completely severs the head of the ghoul.

The other men jump back, their Kakugan activating. "What the hell? A Dâvs? (Doves)

Urie raises his hand to order the attack, but before he can even drop his hand, Mitsugi unleashes his Kagune, ripping through the entire gang of ghouls almost at once. As he mercilessly slaughters them, Urie jumps down behind him and lays a hand on his shoulder. Mitsugi spins around wildly and pierces Urie through the chest with his Kagune. Urie coughs up blood then smiles.

"It's ok. You've done enough, let us take over now"…

As Mitsugi's Kakugan evaporates he sees Urie's wound and starts sobbing.

"I'm so sorry Urie… I lost control… I".

Urie pats him on the shoulder as his wound quickly heals over. "It's ok Mitsugi. Just take a break ok?"

The First Class Investigator nods and Urie sets about securing the area and interrogating the single surviving ghoul. As he walks towards the shivering ghoul being held by the strong grip of Shinohara, Urie smiles.

 _Even though you lost control of your Kagune you were still able to stay within mission parameters…_

"What do we have here? You think you can help _me?"_

The ghoul gulps and looks up at the investigator. "W…Who are you? You're a Dâv, but you don't sound German…"

Urie raised his leg and delivers a devastating kick to the ghouls face, sending him thrashing on the cement. Shinohara grabs him and hauls him up again.

"Me? I'm Associate Special Class Kuki Urie. We're from Japan, and we're looking for a man by the name of Akhira Kanou".

The ghoul's eyes widen a fraction before his head drops.

Urie smiles. "I know that you know who he is. Is he here in Berlin?"

The ghoul mumbles yes. "Good. Where is he? I'm sure we can arrange something if you help us…"

The ghoul looks up into Urie's eyes, nodding. "The Doctor hired us to cover his tracks by causing chaos in the inner city. Kanou said he was going to collect an… asset in Krüchev".

Urie nods slowly. "That's one of the northern districts. Thank you for your cooperation with the CCG…" As he finishes the sentence, he draws Ginkui and beheads the ghoul where he stood.

As the body drops to the floor, Shinohara follows Urie towards the rest of his squad. "I kept my promise. I arranged a painless death for him… Now let's go. We have Kanou in our sights…"

Kaneki jumps back and clutches his wounded limb to his chest.

"Fuck. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!"

Arima watches as the hand regrows almost instantly, a red, scaly arm identical to his right. Kaneki begins panting heavily.

"I…I can't believe that I made that mistake…"

 _A mistake…._

He suddenly freezes, as if encumbered by a shocking memory. His heartrate slows and his breathing slowly returns to normal. Standing, he faces Arima.

"I don't stand a chance here if I don't use my Kagune…" He looks over at his squad mates battling V's Cleaners and easily cornering the enemy.

"It's useless. There can be no equilibrium within a half-blood like me can there?"

He looks Arima in the eye, who raises his own browns in response. "What do you mean, Haise?"

Kaneki laughs. "Don't you see? I can't protect those I love by being and investigator… A Ghoul. That is what I am now. A ghoul, just a ghoul".

He closes his eyes, revealing his single Kakugan in his left eye. Crouching low on the ground, he stares Arima down as he releases his Kagune of Pure black, the Rinkakku limbs thrashing wildly behind him.

 _I understand now, Eto Yoshimura. About what it is to be a One Eyed Ghoul._

Arima fires a blast from Nazukami, drawing Ixa and lunging in behind the lightning bolt. Kaneki uses his Kagune to repel the bolt, whipping the limb beneath him to clash with Arima's thrust from Ixa.

 _Just because I wish to keep my humanity does not mean I have to let it dominate my life._

He thrusts his Kagune forward, shaping it into the form of a blade before clashing with Ixa directly. The Quinque splinters, and Kaneki uses another limb to bring it crashing down on Arima's weapon, destroying it completely.

 _Up until now, I've unconsciously suppressed my ghoul nature. I was afraid of becoming what I once was. Centipede…_

He watches as Arima stares at the remains of his Quinque. "It's about time you started getting serious, Special Class Sasaki". Kaneki continues to stare coldly at his former mentor.

 _And it's all your fault, Kishou Arima. Your fault for imprisoning Ken Kaneki. Your fault for trying to make me disappear. So…_

He suddenly disappears in a blur, reappearing behind Arima, his Kagune poised to slice off the man's head.

"It's your turn to disappear, Arima"….


	5. Chapter 5 - Rebirth

**A/N: This chapter only took me 3 hours to write due the setup for this chapter. Hope not too many people cry, and as always, I hope you enjoy! :D**

The Reaper stares into the hateful eyes of Kaneki as the One Eye arcs his deadly Kagune in towards his exposed neck. Using the hilt of the destroyed Ixa, he angles the steel so that his attackers Kagune grinds against it, escaping the deadlock with only a graze to the cheek.

Arima wipes away the blood on his face and stares at it as Kaneki uses his Kagune to jump backwards, landing on his feet and facing the source of his hatred.

"You're good, Sasaki". Kaneki glares as the Reaper discards the twisted remains of Ixa and clicks his fingers. Out of the darkness of a stone archway, another Quinque case slides into the room landing at the Reapers feet. Arima picks up the case and clicks the lock, unleashing the weapon.

"This Quinque was made from a Kakahou that I ripped out of a ghoul when I was 19… You're the first opponent I've ever used it on…"

The Quinque takes the form of a long broadsword, the blade itself pulsing and twisting with mouths and teeth.

Kaneki's eyes widen. "No… That's impossible…"

Arima smiles faintly, darting to Kaneki's left and swinging the Quinque savagely at the ghoul. Kaneki attempts to use his Kagune to parry, but the blade slices cleanly through the organ. As Kaneki falls to one knee, his Kagune regenerating, Arima slowly walks forward.

"SSS Ukkaku, Owl. Yes you knew it all along didn't you? This Kakuja Quinque is made from the One Eyed Owl's own flesh".

Kaneki gets to his feet, blood dripping into his eye from a wound on his forehead. Growling in anger, he meets Arima mid strike, his own Kagune clashing with the Quinque blade. Arima steps back, slashing Kaneki across the back as the latter falls forward.

As the One Eye rolls over and looks up fearfully into the Reapers eyes, he sighs.

"Those eyes… They still contain despair, I can see it".

He looks down with pitiful disdain at his former Protégé, adjusting his own spectacles. "You no longer wish to die, but despair still clouds your judgement and thoughts. You know as well as I do that only a ghoul can defeat me…. You are just a pitiful human boy, not worthy of my attentions…"

He aims Owl directly at Kaneki's eye. "If I were to pierce your eye now, would that be what you want? A repetition of this cycle? Where is the One Eyed ghoul that destroyed my Quinque just now? Is he dead? Have you killed the ghoul inside you?"

Kaneki's vision suddenly swims as he hears a rich, feminine laugh in his head. He rolls away just as Arima thrust down with Owl, barely missing the ghoul by a hair. Arima smiles as Kaneki crouches there, panting heavily….

 _Kaneki stares disbelievingly at the woman crouching before him, her hand caressing his face gently. "Ah Kaneki… You really are helpless aren't you?"_

" _R….Rize?"_

 _The spectral image of Rize Kamishiro laughs and licks Kaneki's head wound. "Did you honestly think that accepting your ghoul side was a mistake? You abandoned me Kaneki, and when you tried to take me back, you shunned me… How can you get stronger if you fear me? Kaneki"._

 _Kaneki begins to sob in Rize's bosom. "I tried. I tried so hard to surpass you… But I couldn't. Even when I believed I had devoured your strength, I was afraid of you… And because of that, I began to lose sight of my own humanity… But now? My humanity is holding me back, I don't want to choose"_

 _Rize sighs. "My dear Kaneki. You still believe that this is the strength of Rize Kamishiro? You helpless fool…"_

 _The image of Rize disappears, replaced by the form of Haise Sasaki, who folds his arms and shakes his head._

" _Ken Kaneki… You are the person I was and the person I am. My strength was yours, not Rize's. Don't you understand?"_

 _Kaneki looks up at Haise through tear streaked eyes. "What do you mean?"_

 _Haise sighs, and takes Kaneki's face in both his hands. "When you… no, we, decided to accept you for who you truly are, you tried desperately to continue being Haise Sasaki. Kaneki. I am what you wished you were, not what you really are. Stop this. Stop trying to be me and follow your own path ok?"_

 _He walks off into the darkness, and yet another spectral man approaches Kaneki. Amon Kotarou._

" _Ken Kaneki. Look at where you are now. About to be slain by Kishou Arima, the very man who you wish to defeat right?"_

 _Kaneki nods slowly, not understanding. "Do you remember what you said to me the first time we met? You said that it was all inhabitants of this world that was screwing it up. You said you wanted to create understanding between ghouls and humans"._

 _Kaneki suddenly stops crying as he remembers. Amon continues._

" _You said you would fight for that cause, but instead you lost yourself to your ghoul side, and thereafter shunned it, locked it away. You lost yourself in a pleasant dream of humane bliss. But that isn't reality is it Ken Kaneki? You are a human….and you are a ghoul. That is the truth. You no longer wish to die. Good. But what use is that if you still refuse to win? Fight, Ken Kaneki, and fight to win this time"…_

 _Kaneki stands, wiping the tears out of his eyes and watching as Amon too disappears into the darkness. As he turns around to walk away, he sees his own reflection facing him. Kaneki smiles as his reflected self reaches out and grasps his hand._

" _Do you understand now?"_

 _Kaneki nods. "My strength….is mine alone, no one else's"._

 _As the two sides of the reflection join to become one, Kaneki pulls out something from his back pocket. It was a mask made of leather that covered one eye. The Eyepatched ghoul looked into the darkness, where the form of the Reaper stood, waiting._

 _The ghoul smiles beneath the wicked grin of his mask. "People are waiting for us. Let's not keep them waiting shall we?"_

Arima charges forward, preparing to thrust Owl through Kaneki's body when the ghoul suddenly leaps to his feet, his arms outstretched towards the blade. Arima closes his eyes mid thrust and sighs unhappily.

"So you've chosen death after all have you? Such a pity. My time spent on you went to waste…"

He feels the Quinque connect, and he opens his eyes…. To see Kaneki standing before him, Owl's blade between two fingertips. Arima jumps back, regarding him warily.

"This is an… interesting development. With the force of that blow, you shouldn't have been able to stop Owl with your Kagune, let alone physical strength alone…"

Kaneki sighs and looks unhappily at Arima. "Kishou Arima… I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long… This is my fault, not yours".

Arima frowns as the One Eye activates his Kakugan once more and cracks a finger on his right hand. "This feeling… You've decided haven't you? You're going to sacrifice yourself here? Very well. But unlike you, _I_ plan to be victorious here. Say your goodbyes Haise".

Kaneki raises his eyebrows at the Reaper readying his Quinque. He holds out both arms and both his Quinque, Yoshimura and Reiyuza, spring into his hands.

"Two SSS class Quinque versus one. I wonder if you can keep up, Kishou Arima".

Arima's eyes widen as Kaneki disappears, only to reappear to his left, slicing inwards with both Quinque. Arima uses Owl to deflect Reiyuza, then leaps backwards. Kaneki smiles, and unleashes his Kagune as multiple limbs crash into the Reaper and send him hurtling into a pillar. As the resulting dust cloud dissipates, Arima gets to his feet, brushing off dust from his overcoat.

"Good hit, Haise. Using both your Quinque and Kagune at the same time? Perhaps you still have some hope left after all".

He suddenly draws out Nazukami, firing a tri-bolt of lightning at the One Eye, but Kaneki dives beneath it, rolling to his feet and slicing both his Quinque flat against Arima's chest, sending him on the defensive. Kaneki shapes his Kagune into a claw and grasps Nazukami, tearing the Quinque out of Arima's hand and left suspended mid-air.

Kaneki pulls back and lets Nazukami drop into his hand. He lifts it up and down, weighing it. "A little heavy. I can see why you were always sparing in your use of this Quinque. Alas… its weight conceals its density…"

Holding Nazukami in his left hand, he crushes the SS class Quinque into several pieces, letting Arima watch them drop to the floor. The Reaper raises an eyebrow at the sight of Kaneki once again effortlessly destroying one of the most powerful Quinque in the CCG's possession.

"Haise… If you're so hell bent on sacrificing yourself, stop struggling… It will only make your demise all the more painful…"

Kaneki narrows his eyes, staring emotionlessly at his mentor. "You don't know a thing about me, Kishou Arima. Just shut up and die".

Arima's eyes widen as Kaneki's Kagune races towards him, entrapping him in its clawed embrace. The Reaper sneers and slices the appendage off with Owl, dropping to the ground lightly. He twirls Owl around and plants it in the floor blade first, splitting the marble.

"Perhaps I misjudged your intentions here… Am I right to assume you plan to defeat me here?" Kaneki nods, four more Rinkakku limbs bursting from his lower back, making the total amount of limbs of his Kagune 16.

"Good. But ware, for I don't plan on submitting either. Prepare yourself, Ken Kaneki".

Kaneki starts momentarily as Arima uses his real name. The Reaper places a hand on the hilt of Owl and clicks a concealed button. A red light radiates outwards and surrounds his body, and armour-like substance spreading out over his form and hardening. The Quinque's Kakuja state…

Arima's face is enveloped by the armoured Quinque, and the Reaper is truly given the appearance of a God of Death. Facing Kaneki, he raises Owl in his right arm, the blade fused with his armour. He looks upon his left hand as he clenches and unclenches it.

"I…can see everything so clearly now…" His voice is distorted by the armoured hood he wore, so it came across as devilish. Kaneki's eyes widen as Arima's situation dawns on him. He smiles.

"Ah… So that's it. All this time, since you were young. You're going blind aren't you Arima? Even through all of that, you became the Reaper, undefeated investigator. I truly hold you in awe".

He raises his Kagune limbs and angle them towards his opponent. "However, like you, I don't plan on dying here. There are too many people waiting for me".

Arima clenches his hand around Owl and flashes out of Kaneki's vision for a moment, the ghoul adjusting the position of his Kagune so that the flat of Owls blade clashes against his organ. Arima tuts and spins around with god-like speed, slamming the hilt of his Quinque into Kaneki, who is sent flying into the air. Kaneki thrusts outwards with all his Kagune limbs, hoping to skewer the Reaper, but Arima's Kakuja Quinque Armour completely negates the potentially fatal attack.

Frowning, the One Eyed Ghoul slams into the ground, running at Arima at the full extent of his ghoulish power. Pulling out Reiyuza and transforming it into Rifle form, he shoves the barrel of the Quinque right up against a gap in Arima's plate armour and pulls the trigger. The Ukkaku shards merely shatter, however, and the resulting ricochet effect causes several shards to shoot back up inside the barrel. Reiyuza explodes in a fiery mess as Kaneki discards it, leaping backwards.

"Damn… That was a good Quinque too. I'm sorry Auron, I couldn't keep my promise…"

He watches as Arima stands before him, the previous clash not even effecting him. "Damn… Didn't even break a sweat did you?" He once again cracks his finger unconsciously, smiling.

"Come on Ken Kaneki. You're still holding back on me aren't you? Let's get serious here…" he scolds himself ironically.

Crouching low, he laughs softly as he cracks his finger again, an armoured substance forming around his face and body. Twenty jet black, armoured limbs burst out from his Kakahou, followed by armour coating his entire body. His head is encased in a helmet and visor style, both his ordinary eye and Kakugan showing. His mouth is covered by a permanent gaping jaw with jagged teeth. Lastly, a pair of obsidian-like wings sprout from his upper back and shoulders as his hair turns sheer white, giving Kaneki the appearance of an Angel of Death.

"I will protect everyone. No one can stop me from doing that Kishou Arima".

Kaneki's own now distorted voice echoes around the chamber, catching the attention of his squad on the far side. Arima faces Kaneki's new transformation with stoic impassiveness.

"A perfect Kakuja… I had no idea ghouls were able to evolve in this way. Are you truly going to commit yourself to this Ken Kaneki? If you do, you'll be leaving your humanity behind forever"…

Kaneki laughs. "You're wrong Kishou Arima. My humanity stays as long as I want it to. As I said earlier, just die".

Arima, sensing the sudden rise in deadly intent, rushes forward, hoping to catch the One Eye off guard. Using his fused arm and weapon to its fullest advantage, the Reaper reaches out with his left hand to grab Kaneki, and the right to swing Owl in a wide arc towards his head. Kaneki thrusts 4 limbs inwards in a pincer movement, forcing Arima to relent on his attack in order to defend himself.

The ghoul takes this moment to twirl around to Arima's rear, the Reaper spinning around to face him. Kaneki reaches out and lays a hand on Arima's shoulder while putting a finger to his armours gaping lips.

"Shhh. Just leave this world quietly".

Arima's eyes widen in shock as two of the limbs in the pincer meet their mark and slash Arima's whole right side. Kaneki steps back and grasps Owl with multiple limbs while driving 6 other limbs into the ground. Arima leaps into the air and, still attached to Owl's hilt, uses it to pivot himself in a wide circle to avoid the Kagune limbs that burst from the ground beneath him.

Kaneki drops Owl and Arima, retracting all his Kagune limbs and forming a square cube with them, trapping them both inside. Arima darts around as Kaneki's Kagune limbs continue to multiply and burst from the ground, the walls, and from the ceiling. At last Arima stops moving, standing still, breathing heavily, but not panting. Kaneki retracts a few Kagune limbs and slowly circles to Arimas right.

"The amount of Kakahou multiplies as you flex them, allowing you to form countless amounts of Kagune. Overpower me with sheer quantity of limbs so I can't get in close hmm?"

Arima arcs his Quinque in a wide swing, a purple wave following it and piercing the Kagune prison open. Kaneki snarls as many of his severed limbs recoil towards him. As this happens, Arima leaps in towards the ghoul, Owl poised to strike him in the heart. The Quinque blade is almost inches away from him when Kaneki folds his wings over his body, Owl's blade bouncing off the armoured Kagune harmlessly.

Arima sighs, then immediately darts low and in an unbelievable instant, he is past Kaneki's wing shield and Owl is swinging upwards towards the ghoul. Time seems to slow down as Arima smiles once more.

"It's over… Kaneki-kun".

Kaneki looks into the eyes of the Reaper sadly. "Yeah… Over, is right".

Kaneki swings his wings outwards and strikes out with his leg, delivering a devastating kick to Arimas midsection, the man flying backwards into the hard, stone wall of the chamber. Blood trickles from his mouth as Arima clutches his chest for a moment, then stagers to his feet, wiping his mouth on a sleeve.

Kaneki sighs as the Reaper grips Owl tightly, tensing up for another volley of attacks. "You were wrong, Arima-san. It's not that I couldn't defend myself in close combat, it's that I didn't want to. You see, I learnt a few things back when I was defeated by Sachi so many times. Keeping myself physically powerful is important, even for a Kagune-wielding ghoul like myself. Still…"

He drops to his knees as Arima does the same. Blood spurts from a gaping wound in his back as his Kakuja Armour starts to disintegrate, his blood pooling around him. While the serious wound heals quickly, Kaneki retracts his Kagune, watching as Arima stands before him. The ghoul reaches into his pocket and, just like in his vision, his old Eyepatch mask was pulled out. Kaneki closes his eyes as he fits it upon his face, strapping the clamps together. He looks up at Arima with only his single Kakugan eye showing.

"Farewell Kishou Arima. We _will not_ meet again. But as for the moment…"

He strolls up to the Arima and kicks him down onto his back. He releases Yoshimura. Raising it high into the air, he looks down into the fading eyes of Kishou Arima.

"Goodnight, Reaper".

He brings Yoshimura thrusting down, impaling Arima through the left eye, his blood splattering over Kaneki's face. Licking his lips, the Black Reaper pulls out Yoshimura from Arima's body and walks towards the opposite end of the chamber to re-join his squad. As he is facing the other direction, he fails to notice Arima's hand rising to the ceiling shakily.

The dying man's lips move slowly as he rasps out his last words.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't wait for you…. _Sister_ …"


	6. Chapter 6 - Legacy of the Fallen

" _Brother! Brother wait for me ok?"_

 _Kishou Arima turns around as the melodic voice fills the entryway of the Garden. Combing a strand of deep blue hair from his brow, he smiles as he realises who the voice belongs to._

" _Sister… What are you doing here?"_

 _The girl throws herself into the arms of her older brother and buries her face in his shoulder. Looking up at him, she grins and winks, looking behind her._

" _I asked Kaiko where you were and he was being very vague… So I snuck away during dinner!"_

 _Arima shakes his head, patting the girl affectionately on the head. She suddenly narrows her eyes as his own lock with them._

" _You're going to the surface again aren't you? To slay ghouls for the CCG?"_

 _He sighs, pulling away from her and walking again towards the large stone arch that marked the Gardens gate. "Are the rumours true then? That you're going to become an Investigator after all… Why Kishou?"_

 _Arima stops walking, looking around him at the multitude of coloured flowerbeds. He shrugs. "I don't know why… not yet anyway. Sister… I will become an Investigator and slay our enemies for both of us. Do not worry, I will be safe"._

 _Kishou Arima's younger sister looks on in silence as the young man dons his glasses before walking through the arch and out of the Garden. Tears streak down her face and she calls out across the hall._

" _Wait for me Kishou. Don't die before I can join you ok? Promise me this at least…"_

 _Kishou Arima nods his head and waves his Sister farewell before being enveloped by the darkness, tears marring his own face"._

 **Thus is the resolve of one who knows his own fate…**

Noro Schneider stands flanked by Special Class Suzuya and Special Class Amon with the rest of the Reaper Squad before the crowd of CCG employees, Bureau and Investigators alike. Commander Washuu stands and walks up to a microphone placed at the stages center.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the CCG. Tonight we gather here to mourn the passing of the man whom we have all placed great trust in. Special Class Investigator Kishou Arima spent over 20 years in service to the CCG and in that time achieved things unheard of before his time. While having defected from us for personal reasons, he offered his life one last time in order to defend the Reaper Squad from the forces of the insidious "V". This time his offering was taken…"

Yoshitoki Washuu looks out over the thousands of Investigators present, wringing his hands.

"His loyalty to the CCG until his last moments will not go unheard by us. Let us see this man off to the Afterlife with one last salute. Investigators… Attention!"

A deafening chorus of feet snapping together and arms striking chests rippled across the Funeral attendees as the Commander Bows and returns to his seat. Next to step forward is Amon and Juuzou. Amon takes the stage first.

"Greetings everyone. As you may know, I too have spent many years with the CCG. After my capture by Aogiri Tree and my subsequent…. Transformation, it was Special Class Arima that gave me the strength to return… While this man's death is saddening, I feel the need to call attention to the passing of another great man. Special Class Investigator Ken Kaneki also lost his life in the conflict with V that resulted in both their deaths. While due to his past, many viewed him as unconventional, his similarity to Arima-san and his great skill and strength gave us all the motivation to achieve more. Thank you all and that is all from me tonight".

After a few more influential investigators speak in turns, Commander Washuu calls for a promotion ceremony. Noro blinks in surprise as his name is the first to be called.

"Rank 2 Noro Schneider, step forward".

Noro marches out to stand at attention before the Commander and salutes.

"This young man is the leader of the Zenith Quinx and Ken Kaneki's successor. The Special Class himself recommended Noro for promotion as well as sharing his own Kakahou with this Rank 2 for the program. Upon reading up on your achievements inside the Clowns headquarters and V's realm, I have decided to respect the late Special Class's wish and am hereby giving you a dual-promotion to First Class Investigator!"

The crowd claps intensely as Noro is given his award and while Redwood and Taisha are promoted to Rank 1 Investigators. Associate Special Class Fura Haisaki is called forward and, with a little assistance due to him still being in crutches, is promoted to Special Class Investigator after being awarded the Double White Wing Medal along with Shuma Jaeger for their part in the elimination of Nimura Furata.

As the ceremony draws to a close and the night draws ever closer, the investigators mingle and socialize in the after party. Noro stays with his squad and speak with Haisaki and Amon, the latter who had been given leadership of the Reaper Squad and Zenith Quinx. Amon brings Associate Special Class Mado over and the two walk away, chatting happily. Noro looks around for another friend to talk with when he spots her.

The woman, who looked about Noro's own age, cut a striking figure wearing a formal skirt and leggings. Her rich, blue hair was tied back in a tight bun and her icy blue eyes seemed to pierce right through Noro as she noticed him staring.

"Good evening First Class Schneider. Congratulations on the promotion and the Double White Wing Medal. It sounds like you earnt it".

Noro raises an eyebrow slightly. She sounded almost wistful in the way she complemented him on his activities. Noro smiles and takes her outstretched hand.

"Thank you Miss, uhhh…"

She smiles as she raises her hand to her mouth in mock astonishment. "Oh dear, that's my bad. I'm Rank 3 Hiyori Arima. Nice to meet you".

Noro takes a step back as he almost gasps. "I'm sorry. Did you say…Arima?"

Hiyori nods. "Yes Arima. Kishou probably never told anyone he had any family. I'm his younger sister you see".

Noro nods absently, his thoughts racing as Hiyori leans in very close to his face.

"I hear tell that you were present when my brother died. I also hear certain rumours that it was Ken Kaneki that killed him… What do you think of these rumours First Class?"

He recoils from her as she stands up again and laughs. He shakes his head.

"That's bad form Rank 3 Arima… It isn't proper to speak ill of the dead in that way".

Hiyori nods her head seriously. "You're right of course. I was only joking. I am quite saddened to be bearing with the loss of my brother. If I may take my leave?"

Noro nods and says his farewells. As he heads back to his own apartment, which was given to him by the CCG upon his return from V's realm, he locks his door and crashes onto the lounge. He rolls over and looks around the room. This apartment had been Kaneki's until recently… Upon seeing a painting that the Special Class must have put up himself, Noro closes his eyes, looking back to that night in the marble hall…

Special Class Kaneki had ordered them to retreat to the other end of the hall and occupy the Cleaners. Noro had quickly dispatched the ghouls before finally looking over at Kaneki once more. What he had seen still made Noro shiver inside. That image of the Reaper wearing a Kakuja Quinque and Kaneki summoning his own Kakuja while doing great battle. Watching as Kaneki began wearing the legendary Kishou Arima down until he could fight no longer. Witnessing Arima's gory death at the hands of Kankei's Quinque Yoshimura. His last words… _"I'm sorry…Sister…"_

It was all too much. Noro gets to his feet and pours himself a scotch with ice. Taking a sip, he remembers what happened next.

 _Kaneki was walking away from Arima's corpse towards Noro and the others. He was smiling and drenched in blood. Laying a hand on Noros shoulder, the Special Class had lifted him to his feet. "Are you alright?"_

 _Noro had nodded, asking quietly why Kaneki had killed Arima. The Black Reaper had shrugged. "He and I had a longstanding….issue. I tore out the interfering weeds so that I could continue to protect". He had cracked his finger after that, causing the young investigators to recoil in horror. This wasn't the man they called leader. So who was it then?_

" _Noro… I need to ask you a favour. All of you…. Can you pretend that I'm dead?"_

 _Noro had demanded answers, which Kaneki had sadly refused to answer, saying that he had to leave the CCG, to choose his own path from this point onwards. After that, he had simply walked away into the dark tunnels leading away from the marble chamber, leaving both his former charges and identity as an investigator buried underground forever…._

Noro frowns as he thinks of the woman from earlier, Hiyori Arima.

"She's very informed… If she's anything like her brother then she would be almost as powerful as Kaneki-san… What should I do?"

She had hit the nail on the head with her comment on rumours. She already knew who it was that had killed her brother. Would she go looking for the half ghoul in vengeance? Noro closes his eyes and drifts off and allows sleep to claim him for the night…

Hiyori Arima lounged in the hot bath she had poured in her own apartment no 2 blocks from Noro's abode. She smiles as the water soothes her skin. She had lied to Noro in telling him her identity. Hiyori Arima she certainly was, but she had already been promoted to First Class Investigator a month ago. As far as fast promotions went, the Commander had told her that even Kishou hadn't been promoted as quickly as her.

She sighs as she once again remembers that her older brother lay dead 6 feet below the earth. She holds up a soggy scrap of paper. It was a newspaper article from the time when Aogiri and the CCG had once struck a Ceasefire. That Ceasefire had abruptly ended when Aogiri forces had completely destroyed the CCG base on the North Shore of Rushima Island.

The article detailed the events and included several pictures. On this piece of article, one individual in particular had been circled in red pen. Hiyori stares at it and smiles once more.

"This is the only physical evidence left that you ever existed, Ken Kaneki…"

She lets it drop to the floor and she grabs a hairbrush from a bench. "So you were the one who killed Kishou… I wonder what you're like. You look kind of cute to be honest… But know this. I will find you somehow…"

Akhira Kanou raises his hand to his eyes as the blaring lights of the helicopter ravage the dark building he was currently staying in. He swears and leaps for the suitcase lying on the threadbare mattress as the wall he had been leaning on exploded inwards in a shower of mortar and concrete. Urie lowers his leg as the Quinx Squad breach the room and fan out in all directions. Walking over to the prone form of Kanou on the bed, Urie nudges him with his toe, causing the doctor to sit up and behold the intruder.

"Doctor Kanou… You've made things very difficult for my team so far. It'd be appreciated if you cooperated with us". He smiles coldly as Kanou scowls at him.

"You finally got around to finding me then. I was beginning to wonder if Berlin had gotten the best of you". He smiles now, standing up and walking over to a dirt stained window.

"So what will you do now? I clearly can't escape, and you captured me because you didn't want me to join V… But, though I will comply and come with you and your team back to Japan, I must ask you something".

Shinohara walks in and dumps the unconscious forms of Kanou's guards on the floor. Nishiki also leaps in from an open window, a satellite dish crumpled in his hand. Urie frowns.

"What is it then?"

Kanou smiles and leans forward closely to Urie. "Did you hear that Ken Kaneki has died?"

Urie recoils in shock, shaking his head in disbelief. "No way. Special Class Kaneki can't be dead. Tell me! Where did you get this information Kanou!?"

The Doctor steps back with his arms up in mock surrender. "Having connections to V comes with many perks. Apparently, Kaneki and his Reaper Squad infiltrated one of V's meeting halls and he and Arima clashed…. Probably not what the CCG was told, but it's rumoured that Kaneki himself killed Arima before succumbing to his own wounds. His body was never found by the CCG…"

He smiles and Urie strikes out with his elbow, sending the man flying through another wall. "Don't fuck with me! Are you saying that he was killed?"

"Not at all Associate Special Class Urie. I'm merely stating that his body wasn't found by V either. Most likely is that he's defected from the CCG once again and has gone into hiding to recover… I also hear tell that Aogiri broke the Ceasefire last week. See what those animals do when I'm not around to guide them? Barbaric…." He shakes his head sadly.

Saiko clamps a restraining hand over Urie's own shaking ones. He closes his eyes and steadies his breathing. "So Kaneki's abandoned us for good then? And now Special Class Arima is gone forever thanks to him… He's doomed us all".

Kanou raises his hand to his mouth. "Oh dear. I wonder what his younger sister will make of this news. She'll be devastated".

Urie turns on him again. "Sister? Arima has a sister? Fuck it Kanou. You're hereby under arrest for collaborating with ghouls. We will transport you back to court in Tokyo where you'll go on to be imprisoned in Cochlea with the ghouls you love so much"…

The Investigator grabs Kanou and promptly leaves the slum block.

The gathering of ghouls sit warming their hands around the campfire. This night was likely to be their last in the 2nd Ward since the ceasefire had been broken. One ghoul stands. His hair was spiked in a brilliant fashion and he wore no shirt. Spreading his hands, his dons his mask and addresses the rest of the ghouls.

"'Comrades. We are in a difficult situation and a decision must be made tonight. Since Aogiri and the CCG are engaged in battle again, this place is wedged between the CCG to the north and Aogiri on Rue Island to the south. I believe that the only way to live through these trying times is to join Aogiri Tree… Who's with me?"

Before anyone can answer, the sound of footsteps on metal grating echoes throughout the portside construction yard. A figure wearing a hooded trench coat looks down upon the ghouls silently. One ghoul leaps up and points to him.

"Dove! Look at the coat he's wearing!"

"No, he smells like one of us…"

The ghoul who had spoken earlier raises his hands for silence. Looking up at the hooded man, he drops his arms. "Who goes there this night?"

The man leaps from the steel frame of the tower and lands softly in the sand a short distance away from the gathered ghouls. Rising to his full height, he looks into the firelight, revealing the features hidden by the hood. Several ghouls take fearful steps backwards. The leader's eyes widen and he too takes a step away from the newcomer.

"Eyepatch… Is that you?"

Kaneki throws back his hood and walks up to the fire, promptly warming his hands. His eyepatch mask reflecting the light of the flames.

"Good evening ghouls of the 2nd Ward. I hear tell that you face difficult times"…

The leader nods slowly. "Yes… What business of it is yours?"

Kaneki smiles behind his masked lips. "I happen to be on my way to Rue Island right now. I have friends in high places within Aogiri and I could put in a good word or two on your behalves perhaps? Would that make up your minds?"

The leader sighs inwardly with relief. The Eyepatch wasn't here to eat them. He had only been young in the days where the name Eyepatch had been spoken by mothers to keep their children in line. The Ghoul-Eating Half Kakuja, Centipede. But now?...

"Why do you wish to join Aogiri Eyepatch? You used to be actively against them in the past…"

Kaneki removes his mask, revealing his single Kakugan. "I was young and rash back in those days… A lot has happened in the intervening time… The time has come where the Reaper is no more and I need to meet up with someone on Rue Island. I will leave now, but follow if you wish…"

The Eyepatch Ghoul dons his mask once more and walks off towards the waters of Tokyo Bay. In the moonlight, his jet black hair develops a small amount of white streaks. Kaneki smiles as he realises what is happening.

 _I've finally embraced the ghoul inside of me. This isn't because of great stress like last time. He looks up to the sky and stares at the moon._

" _White is the colour of my resolve to win…"_

 **END Tokyo Ghoul: Zenith 06**

 **Next Chapter: The King and his Owl…**

 **An extra-long chapter next time celebrating the beginning of summer! :D**


	7. Chapter 7 - The King and his Owl

_**The Eyepatch enters the embrace of Aogiri!...**_

The bitter wind ravaged Kaneki's hair as he steps of the barge onto the northern shore of Rue Island. Around him, still smoking ruins of the CCG's encampment lay under a thick layer of moss. He looks up to the ruins of the cathedral at the islands center, blanketed in mist. Cracking his head to the side, he begins a leisurely stroll up the steep incline towards the cathedral. As Kaneki crests the cliff face, a robed ghoul is waiting to meet him.

"Welcome back to Rushima, Eyepatch. The Owl is waiting for your arrival".

Kaneki nods and silently follows the Aogiri follower through a crumbling stone wall that acted as a perimeter for the innermost part of the island. Sentries posted at intervals looked down upon the newcomers as they made their way through a city of tents to the steps of the temple. The follower bows and steps aside as Kaneki walks the rest of the way on his own. Stepping through the threshold into the cathedrals halls, Kaneki marvels at how alive the ruins looked now. Aogiri's occupation had led to large scale reconstruction of collapsed areas and refurbishments.

A feminine voice reverberates throughout the ancient stones from his left. Turning to address the voice, Eto walks out from the shadows flanked either side by Tatara and Ayato.

"I was wondering what happened down there. So it's true then? The Reaper lay slain by your hands?" The leader of Aogiri Tree grins happily at Kaneki and takes his hand into her own. Kaneki stays silent as she leads him towards the inner sanctum, Tatara and Ayato following close behind.

"Don't feel like talking? I was hoping you would be more talkative now that you've truly become a ghoul". She pouts mockingly, and Kaneki frowns at her, blinking.

"Sorry Eto… I've had a lot on my mind since my battle with the Reaper… I've come here to join Aogiri Tree…"

Ayato's eyes widen in surprise and Tatara merely nods knowingly while Eto just smiles and gives him an affectionate peck on the cheek. "I know you have Kaneki-kun, and I'm here to give you a warm welcome!"

They step out onto a wooden stage erected inside the now clear inner sanctum where both Matsuri Washuu and Renji Yomo had met their ends against Kishou Arima. Thousands of Aogiri followers were packed into the chamber, watching intently as the group walk out onto the stage's center. Eto raises her hands for silence and as the chorus of voices dies down, she addresses her organisation.

"My fellow ghouls and member of the Aogiri Tree. As you may know, I am your leader and founder. Tonight however, I wish to introduce you all to our newest follower. Ken Kaneki is the ghoul known as Eyepatch, but from this day forth I will grant him a new name".

She holds out her hand to Kaneki who looks at her with puzzlement. Yanking off his mask so the crowd could see his single Kakugan, the Owl once again turns to her followers.

"The King! My friends. At last our wait is over, for the true leader of Aogiri had been born! Ken Kaneki is the One Eyed King who will bring ghoul kind out of the darkness into light! From this day forth, he is the leader of Aogiri Tree. It's been a long ride, but I shall step down as leader, for my work as your founder is complete. I have hatched the Kings Egg".

The assembled ghouls go wild as Eto steps back, pushing Kaneki in front. Taking a deep breath and embracing these unexpected turn of events, he closes his eyes as he forms his Kakuja armour. Looking up at the crowd through his armoured visor, he raises his right arm to the side.

"Tatara! Come to my side!"

The Aogiri executive walks forward to stand next to Kaneki. The One Eye lays his hand on the ghouls' chest as a purple light pulses within.

"Heed my command, for I am your King and Lord. Become my hound and slay our enemies!"

Tatara bows and breathes a sigh as the purple glow spreads throughout his body. Slowly, a Kakuja armour forms around him as he crouches on all fours. His transformation complete, Tatara sits back on his Kakujas hind legs and curls his armoured tail around his forepaws. His voice has become deeper and gruff.

"I am yours to command my King".

Next Kaneki repeats the process with Ayato, also bestowing him a perfect Kakuja in the form of a wolf. With his two hounds at his side, he beckons Eto to him. Looking out over the Aogiri Tree, he smiles behind his armour.

"I am your King but I am also your comrade as a fellow ghoul. Follow your lord, with his Hounds at his heels and his Owl perched atop his shoulder. I will show you a better world, but we will always face adversity".

He pauses, and several followers nod in agreement, whispering.

"The CCG was once an organisation I called home, but I have decided on my own path. They are disillusioned, and must be overcome if ghoul kind is to succeed. Then there is also V, of course. V is the ancient enemy of Aogiri Tree and humanity as a whole. They will stop at nothing until this world lays under their dominance and control. I have already started paving the way. The Reaper lay dead at my feet, and V has once again retreated below the ground. Will you join me my friends?"

Aogiri Tree explodes in a thunderous roar of approval from its followers. Their King had come to show them the way. It was time for ghouls to fight back.

Kaneki raises a hand to his eyes as a great fatigue came over him. It was almost as if it was the spirit of the One Eyed King, not himself, that had spoken and acted in the last 5 minutes. He releases his Kakuja, letting the armour disintegrate and leave him standing in his Eyepatch mask. As he once again looks up at the moon, his hair now turns completely white.

"I've chosen… Hide. I don't know where to go from here, and I don't know if I'm capable of leading Aogiri Tree as their King, but I'll sure as hell give it my all…

Urie stands at ease before Commander Washuu's desk in the CCG's main office in the heart of the 1st Ward. Yoshitoki himself was pacing back and forth across the room. He looks over to Urie.

"I'm promoting you to Special Class Investigator. With the loss of Special Class Kaneki, I feel that you are the most capable candidate for the position".

Urie snaps to attention and salutes the Commander. This was his lifelong dream. To reach the level that his father had resided on, and the position his mentor Ken Kaneki had also held. But he felt nothing. Kaneki's reported death had distressed him greatly deep down within his soul.

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down". Yoshitoki nods. "Good. Now we need to get down to business. We are forced into a position where we need to eradicate Aogiri Tree entirely before their forces increase sufficiently to return to the mainland. I hope that you can take care of that for me".

Urie nods affirmation as two newcomers enter the room.

"Ah, First Class Schneider and First Class Arima. This is Special Class Urie. He will be your squad leader for the upcoming Rushima Extermination".

Noro looks in surprise at Hiyori as her true rank is revealed to him and she winks at him before turning to Urie and holding out her hand.

"Special Class. It's an honour to work with you. Hiyori Arima at your service".

The Commander smiles as Urie's eyes widen as the truth dawns on him. "You're Arima-sans sister?"

Hiyori smiles and nods. "Indeed. I'm sure you already know Noro here hmm?"

Urie nods, shaking Noro's hand. "I here that you were present when Kaneki died. I'm sorry for the loss of your mentor…" Noro nods. "Don't hold back sir. I know he was your mentor also…"

Urie nods absently, the revelations of the Reapers legacy hitting him suddenly. He turns to the Commander, frowning. "You always told me that Kishou Arima was educated and trained in some place called… The Garden. Is this true? Does V have an involvement with this Garden?"

Yoshitoki raises his hands in surrender. "Knowing how trustworthy you are, and having a denizen of the Garden here herself, I can't lie. The Garden is a secret facility that was established in order to take gifted children into care and train them to be excellent fighters. However, it was originally only intended for ghoul children…"

Urie and Noro step back in unison. "What? _Ghoul_ children? But what do the Arima's have to do with ghoul children? They're human…. Aren't they?"….

Hiyori pokes her tongue out as she winks at Urie. Yoshitoki folds his arms and continues.

"The Arima family, that is, the late Kishou and his younger sister Hiyori, are human, as were many other children. You must understand. These children never thought to become investigators. Kishou Arima was the first among them to ever even venture into the daylight… Right Hiyori?"

Hiyori now folds her arms around her body and stares at the floor. "That is correct. I was very surprised when Kishou decided to leave the Garden all those years ago. We of the Garden were…. Trained to be killers".

Noro gasps. "Uhhh, excuse me? But Special Class Kaneki once told me that he believed that Kaiko, the leader of V, also oversaw this Garden. Is that true?"

Hiyori frowns. "I have only recently learnt of both the existence of V and Kaiko's relation to that group. All I ever knew him as was our Overseer. I never saw his face, but Kishou did. Also, many times over the past few years I've caught Kaiko leaving suddenly very often and talking on the phone. He mentioned Ken Kaneki's name often…"

Urie nods slowly. "Kaneki also told me of his thoughts on the matter of V. Kaiko must be both the leader of V and the Overseer of the Garden. But if he was collaborating with the CCG through Arima, then why use the same name? It would only make the job of linking V and the Garden easier, and those phone calls? Kaiko must have been in contact with Arima over the years. The Special Class said that after Arima defeated him that first time, it seemed that he was… training him. Watching him and building him up for something".

The Commander sighs, sitting back down in his chair. He ushers the three investigators closer and speaks in a hushed tone.

"I know that V and the CCG are intimately intertwined, but it is difficult to decipher the truths here. Because of my grandfather, there are 80 years of deceit and lies to dig through in order to find the truth. Special Class Urie, I trust First Class Arima even more than her brother. Kishou Arima was an agent of V who, directly or not, was relaying Intel back to Kaiko regularly. I'm sorry if this hurts you Miss Arima, but your brother made some great mistakes in his life".

Hiyori nods, licking her lips. "I know that… But I'm still sad that he's gone all the same. He promised me that he would wait for me... Anyway, I wish to share some thoughts of my own if I may sir?"

Yoshitoki nods, and she addresses all present. "When I heard of the news that Kishou had died, I couldn't believe it. Back when we were children, he was so strong. We also watched broadcasts from the surface detailing his achievements. I knew that if he had been slain… It would have been at the hands of a particular ghoul…"

Urie screws up his face in a frown, fingering a strand of hair until he hears Hiyori say this. "A Ghoul? But surely you know that Arima wouldn't be defeated by any ghoul. He was the Reaper, the undefeated investigator. The only ghoul that had ever even managed to damage his _Quinque_ was… the Eyepatch…Ghoul".

Urie's train of thought grinds to a halt as his half assed defence of Kaneki falls to pieces as the reality dawns on him. Hiyori raises an eyebrow.

"Yes The Eyepatch, who as some here may know, is the same person as Ken Kaneki. If any ghoul was able to kill my brother, he is the prime candidate. He will pay for this, mark my words…"

Yoshitoki raises his hands to placate the fuming woman. "Even if it was Ken Kaneki who killed Arima, he had been branded a traitor by the board. It is as it seems. Special Class Kaneki killed Kishou Arima before succumbing to his own wounds…"

Hiyori shakes her head savagely. "He killed my brother for personal reasons don't you see? And did anyone find his body at the scene? Even any of his blood? Ken Kaneki is a One Eyed Rinkakku ghoul with extraordinary regenerative abilities. This is what I think. I think that he underwent some sort of major mental shift, deciding that he wanted to kill Kishou, became a Perfect Kakuja and is still alive somewhere… I'd place my bets on Aogiri Tree".

Urie and Noro both step forward, yelling at the smug looking woman. The Commander slams his fist on the table and orders them all to stand firm. Urie takes a deep breath, ruffling his hair.

"What makes you think Kaneki would join Aogiri? Why would he leave the CCG in the first place? He _is_ half ghoul, but he's also human first and foremost… right?"

Hiyori pipes up. "Not anymore it seems. He must have decided that he's a ghoul after all. If I were in his position, getting minced by Kishou and believing that his humanity was weighing him down, I would stop fearing my ghoulish nature and embrace it fully. He _did_ fear his ghoul side all this time unconsciously, it's obvious".

Noro raises a shaking hand. "Guys? I have something I need to tell you. You're right, First Class Arima. Special Class Kaneki isn't dead. After he… killed Arima-san, he came over to our squad. I still remember his eyes. They were the eyes of a man who had resolved to kill. Whatever happens next, I don't feel that the Kaneki that we will meet in the future is the same man we once knew…"

He looks directly at Hiyori and continues. "He asked us if we were ok and said that he was sorry that he dragged us into this mess. He said that he had decided to finally follow his own path and that he couldn't come back to the CCG in order to continue protecting us all. After that, he just left while putting on some kind of mask".

Hiyori nods as her suspicions are confirmed. "It seems that the Eyepatch Ghoul has returned". She looks to Yoshitoki. "So, if I am to assume I am participating in this Rushima Extermination, I am permitted to go to any lengths necessary on Ken Kaneki?"

The Commander sighs and nods sadly. "Special Class Investigator Ken Kaneki is to be branded a traitor to the CCG, while Kishou Arima is to be posthumously reinstated as an investigator. Do as you wish, First Class Arima. Ken Kaneki is an SS rated ghoul after all…"

After the meeting had ended, Urie instructs Noro to get the Zenith Quinx mobilised as he meets Hiyori in the main lobby of the CCG HQ. She turns as he approaches.

"I know you don't really trust me, but please believe me. I had no idea that the Overseer and the leader of V were the same person. I've never even seen his face. Look… I think Kaneki Ken has joined the Tree, and there's a high chance that he's already become one of their Captains. He _is_ associates with the One Eyed Owl after all".

Urie nods and is about to say that he had no wish to actively seek battle with his former mentor when Kotarou Amon and Yukinori Shinohara turn the corner and face the two younger investigators.

"Special Class Urie, First Class Arima. I don't like the idea of fighting Kaneki when I only recently brought him back to… life. But Special Class Shinohara and I will accompany you on this operation. Besides… I want to have a long chat with the Eyepatch Ghoul once again… It's been a long time since I've seen that face of Kaneki, and I've never seen him like this. Embracing his ghoul side entirely but still keeping the things that make him human?"

Shinohara nods in agreement and Hiyori pouts, turning away. Amon continues. "There is no one more unique than Ken Kaneki on this earth. Please. Think before you commit to throwing your life away like this…"

Hiyori storms off. "I will not lose to the Eyepatch Special Class Kotarou. I will avenge my brother if it's the last thing I do…"

Kaneki walks alongside Eto through the sunlit halls as the morning dawn kissed the arches of the cathedral. Looking at her, he frowns, remembering what he asked of him that time so long ago in Cochlea.

"Eto… You once asked me to kill the One Eyed King… But if _I'm_ the King, then doesn't that mean you were asking me to kill myself?"

Eto laughs melodically, twirling herself around one of the pillars before re-joining him. "Indeed I did Kaneki-kun. You see… Back then, I truly was despairing. Not because I was imprisoned, for you know how easily I escaped. No. It was because I knew you were the King, yet… You also despaired. You wanted nothing more but to die in style didn't you? The One Eyed King was trapped in your body, which you were about to throw away".

Kaneki nods in understanding. "So you asked me to kill myself, knowing that I planned to die anyway. You thought that my coming close to death would somehow cause a catalyst to break my despair? Very good Miss Yoshimura. You were right weren't you?"

Eto laughs girlishly. "Back in those days, you always seemed to play into my hands perfectly. But now? You've gotten too strong, too good for me I'm afraid". She laughs again, this time somewhat sadly. Kaneki sighs.

Taking her into a sudden embrace, he smiles and whispers into her ear as she blushes. "Do not worry your little head over it Eto. You did what was best for me and for that I am grateful. You are my Owl, who ever said that the Kings Owl gets no love?"

He gives her a lingering peck on the cheek as he pulls away and stops in front of a window, looking out at the sunrise. Eto stands silently behind him, hand over the cheek he had just kissed. She smiles and closes her eyes.

 _Well mother? It seems that your daughter isn't as hopeless a woman that she thought she was…_

Kaneki laughs. "Never. Who would think you were hopeless Miss Yoshimura?"

Eto blushes again then her eyes harden as she delivers a vicious thrust with her Kagune which he nimbly catches. "No way… You can read my mind?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I've found that I am able to understand those that I share a bond with deeply. You are my Owl, so it's only natural right?" He picks her up and heaves her onto the windowsill before him. "Eto… The road ahead isn't going to be an easy one. I have a task, but I won't be able to do it alone. Will you stay by my side?"

Eto breathes out blissfully as Kaneki snuggles against her neck. "But what of Touka Kirishima? Surely you have feelings for her?"

Kaneki shakes his head. "Touka is a person I care deeply about, but not in this way… I would only bring her suffering… You know what I mean, because you have been down the same path, am I wrong?"

She shakes her head, the two of them sharing the warm glow of the dawn until Tatara comes looking for them several hours later. As he rounds a corner, he spots the King and his Owl sleeping soundly together upon the window sill. Saying nothing, Tatara's mask moves almost as if the ghoul was smiling for an instant. He turns around and leaves his leaders in peace…

Touka looks up from her study work and sees Hinami coming into :re through the side door. She looks at the younger woman's bedraggled appearance and raises an eyebrow.

"Have you been out chasing men again Hinami? You know, humans might not like the stamina of ghoul women…" She winks and grins as Hinami blushes.

"What business is it of yours? You said yourself, Oni-chan isn't coming back to the café is he? I can't put my life on hold for him anymore…"

Touka sighs, taking a sip of Coffee. "I know you saw that news report too Hinami. Please don't lie to yourself… Kaneki is gone. He and the Reaper killed each other…"

Hinami begins to sob and Touka gets up and brings the young woman into her embrace. "I know it's hard. But with the way that he was always afraid of his ghoul side, it doesn't surprise me that he couldn't win that battle…"

Hinami glares up at her through tear streaked eyes and cries even harder. "How can you be so cold about it? Are you a monster?"

Touka also begins to tear up, shaking her head. "I'm not, Hinami. I am sad but… If I cry, then I would have betrayed Kaneki. I still have some hope that he's out there now, choosing his own life…"

The Rushima Extermination division is lined up on the shore of Tokyo Bay overlooking Rue Island. Yoshitoki Washuu stares at the Cathedral on the islands centre. "As soon as the sun rises, the operation will begin. Special Classes Urie, Kotarou, Suzuya and Shinohara will lead the assault team. Our goal is to bring down Aogiri, its Captains and the One Eyed Owl once and for all…. Prepare yourselves…"

Hiyori and Noro ready their gear. The younger sister of Arima glares at the island before her. "Watch your back, Eyepatch. I'm coming…"

Kaneki stands upon the northern cliffs of Rue Island as Aogiri forces mobilize for an ambush. Eto stands by his side and both Tatara and Ayato are behind them. He looks at Eto who nods. "I know what I need to do Ken Kaneki. Trust me, this battle isn't going to be a cakewalk like they always have been"…

Kaneki nods, smiling. Turning to Tatara and Ayato, he spreads his arms. "My wolves. You know what you need to do right?"

Ayato nods first. "We defend you of course".

Tatara steps forward. "But only when and if you enter the battlefield. Until then we act as we normally would as Executives. We will slay many investigators today…"

The young Kirishima nods in agreement and Kaneki clenches his fist and looks down upon the waves below. His thoughts and feelings swirling around his head.

 _Am I doing the right thing? What do I want to achieve?... I want to protect, I want to live… I want to win and…. I want a world where humans and ghouls can live in peace. That is what I want._

He raises his fist to the dawn air and smiles happily. "You know what guys? I think I've found my purpose…"

Kaiko sits upon a cushioned chair in a small bedroom. A sleeping child lay beneath the sheets as the leader of V smiles while stroking the young girl's hair. This was the Garden, and these children his charges. Looking over at the television screwed to the corner of the wall, Kaiko watches a news broadcast in silence as it details the upcoming Rushima Extermination. He sighs, removing his bone white mask, all his features but his eyes hidden by darkness.

"It seems our King has broken out of his egg at last. My my, Ken Kaneki. You've been through so much pain already but… you're only just entering your rebellious stage aren't you? Good luck, nephew of mine…"

Deep within the darkest cells of Cochlea, where most investigators shivered at the thought of entering, a ghoul looks up from his eternal slumber and gasps. Patting at his chest and face, he staggers to his feet and spins around, taking in the scene of the inside of his cell. Countless words and sentences were engraved upon the smooth stone walls made with his own nails. The man's matted black hair droops down over his eyes as he stares up at the ceiling.

"Why am I awake?..."

His eyes adjust to the darkness, and he can make out the words written by his own unconscious hands.

 _Help me_

 _I'm hungry_

 _The King has been lost!_

 _We're doomed_

 _The King has come…_

 _My son…_

Frowning, he suddenly falls to the floor, clutching the sides of his head in agony as my memories all rush back into his mind.

"Oh my Hikari… I'm so sorry! I gave up…"

He sobs into his own arms as he crouches in the corner for some time. He stops, taking a shuddering breath.

"I…I've been in a coma for all this time?... What happened to my children? To Renji?"

He pauses, looking over the crazed messages scrawled by his hand and his face goes slack. "What has happened to my Eldest?... Has the King truly come?"

As he thumps the wall of his cell, a sudden movement causes him to look sharply towards the door. A human man in uniform is peering through the bars at the ghoul, frowning.

"Wow. I thought I heard something down here… So you're awake, Corpse Picker?"

Arata Kirishima walks slowly towards the guard and stands facing him calmly. "How long have I been asleep?"

The guard shrugs. "Dunno. About 12 years or so now I guess. What made you wake up hmm? If I were you, I'd stay asleep. It'd be less painful that way".

Arata begins pacing around his cell, feeling more alive than he had in 13 years. "Touka and Ayato are alive. I'd know if they weren't. But what of the eldest? What happened to Claudia?"

He turns to the guard nonchalantly. "So has anything exciting happened around here lately?"

The guard laughs, leaning against the far wall. He often spoke with the inmates of Cochlea, so he was used to ghouls asking him questions.

"You could say that. Cochlea has been breached twice in the time you were taking a nap. That damn Aogiri were the first to ever get inside… That damn Owl even got as deep as the SS level and released several dangerous ghouls including Sachi…"

Arata frowns. "Owl? What has Yoshimura been doing? Why would he break into Cochlea? And Sachi was imprisoned here too?"

"I don't know who Yoshimura is, but I'm talking about the One Eyed Owl. She's the leader of Aogiri Tree ya know". Arata nodded. He knew of Aogiri Tree. The group that Yoshimura's daughter had founded in order to find the One Eyed King…

"You said there were two incidents. What of the second?"

The human frowns and pauses. "That time the One Eyed Owl, Eto, was imprisoned not three blocks up from here. Special Class Sasaki had arrested her after figuring out that she, the Owl, and Sen Takatsuki were the same person".

Arata sighs. "I don't know this Special Class Sasaki. Is he an investigator?"

"Well… He was the greatest Investigator ever… Even better than Arima. But he's gone now. Dead. You want to hear about it?"

Arata leans in closer so the guard continues. "He was an artificial One Eyed Ghoul that had been defeated by Arima and his memories lost. After that, he was taken in by the CCG and he became quite a good investigator. Somewhere along the way I guess he got his memories back, because he went from having salt and pepper hair to jet black in days. He was like a black alternative to Arima-san… He betrayed us though… At least, we thought he did. While guarding Cochlea, he released the cell gates in order to bail out one of his ghoul friends and ended up fighting Arima again.. I don't know what happened there but he came out on top and calling Arima an agent of V…"

Arata's heart stops a beat. This young man's story was almost parallel to his own. Could he be the one? "My first son? Ken Kaneki?..."

 **End Tokyo Ghoul Zenith 07**

 **Next Chapter: Rebellion**


	8. Chapter 8 - Rebellion

A thunderous roar signalled the beginning of the CCG's assault as countless investigators stream from small barges and boats onto Rue Islands shore. Above them, a sheer cliff face halts their advance, resulting in the Aogiri forces positioned on the cliffs peak being able to fire upon the defenceless investigators with modified mp5 Sub Machine guns.

Minutes pass and while it appears that Aogiri has the upper hand, a huge explosion hits the left half of the cliff face, causing much of the overhanging earth to collapse, taking dozens of Aogiri ghouls with it to the bottom.

Special Class Urie scowls as the foul stench of death aggravates his nostrils. Lowering Ginkui, he smirks as he beholds the result of his ferocious attack against the ambushers. Raising his arm, he ushers the rest of the troops further out onto the beach, where the vanguard had already taken position behind a group of large rocks as cover.

Followed closely by Amon, Noro, Hiyori and Shinohara, Urie shields his eyes against another explosion that rocks the cliff face. "What's the situation? Can we move forward?"

The Ground Coordinator shakes his head. "We can't advance until the flanking party hits the ghouls up there from behind. What's their current position sir?"

Urie growls angrily. "Special Class Suzuya and the Quinx Squad are almost to the top. We need to distract those fuckers for as long as possible".

He motions to Hiyori. "First Class Arima and First Class Schneider. You two are taking point ok?"

Noro salutes as he and Hiyori leap out from behind the rocks, Quinque springing into his hands. Swinging Centipede in his right arm, the Quinque splits into several deadly tentacles, racing towards the ghouls at the top of the small part of the face. Many ghouls fail to get out of the way and are pierced, falling to the sand.

Hiyori releases her Quinque, which splits into 2 short blades made of obsidian black. Driving them into the ground, countless blades begin erupting from the earth through the cliff. No one escapes the weapons savage assault and the younger sibling of the Reaper looks on impassively as she wipes the blood from her blades in the sand.

Noro is staring at her with wide eyes and she turns to him with a look as if to say "You're surprised?" She smiles wanly.

"A Quinque salvaged from the remains of one of Kishou's Special Class Quinque, Ixa Mark II" she comments by way of explanation.

Urie now also joins the fray, using Ginkui in a sweeping arc to devour the Aogiri Ghouls before him. "Let's move forward! The flanking party is almost in position". Hundreds of investigators take up the cry and charge forward.

Juuzou slices the head of the Aogiri lookout with Jason and turns to the rest of the flanking party. "We need to…remove these guys ok? So go wild!"

He cackles gleefully as he jumps over the edge of an embankment and begins sowing death and chaos in the ranks of ghouls guarding the northern cliff face. Mitsugi raises an eyebrow as he witnesses the Special Class's battle prowess. Turning to Saiko and the others, he thrusts a thumb behind him.

"So are we just gonna let him have all the fun? Let's get to work guys".

Releasing their Kagune, the Quinx Squad rip through the Aogiri Tree effortlessly until few remain. Mitsugi crouches low on the ground, recovering his breath as Urie crests the cliff face path with countless investigators in tow.

"You're all good here? Excellent. Then we move onto the Cathedral, where I'm sure Aogiri's Captains are waiting. Let's go while we have the momentum!"

Rushing forward once more, Mitsugi calls out to the Special Class. "Urie wait! Shouldn't we make sure we have the initiative before-".

He is interrupted as something slams into the ground between them. The intruder rises to his feet, facing Mitsugi and the Quinx. "I was wondering when you freaks were gonna show up. Let's dance shall we?"

Someone cries out as dozens of crystalline shards pierce him through the upper chest and throat, dropping to the ground. Another investigator yells as he narrowly dodges another barrage of projectiles. "Black Rabbit! Look out!"

Urie grips Ginkui tighter but Mitsugi raises his hand to stop him. "Don't worry Special Class Urie. Go on ahead because I've got this covered".

Urie grits his teeth then sprints off after Noro and Hiyori who had gone on ahead. Looking around, he sees that he has Saiko behind him and several other Rank 1 and 2 investigators with them. "We could actually do this guys. Quick! Surround him and wear him down!"

Leaping to the left, he uses his Kagune to swipe at Ayato's feet as the Ukkaku user jumps high into the air, summersaults, and fires a deadly spray of shards from his wings. An investigator runs forward, releasing his A rated Ukkaku Quinque which manifests in the form of a large shield. The shield negates the attack, and Ayato drops back down to the ground, sighing.

Mitsugi frowns. "Why the long face, Black Rabbit?" Ayato looks at the Quinx beneath his mask. "That's why. You humans don't even attempt to learn our names so you just give us your own". He fires a few more shards behind him, instantly killing the 5 investigators who had been silently approaching him from behind.

"He told me to split up the enemy and engage them. I'm only fulfilling my duty here". Mitsugi growls and raises his Kagune, locking limbs with Ayato as the ghoul deflects with his hardened wings. Gritting his teeth, Mitsugi pushes Ayato back a step.

"Who is _he?_ Who is Aogiri Tree's leader? Is it the One Eyed Owl?"

Ayato smiles as he pushes out with his wings, blasting the Quinx full of shards and sending him crashing into Saiko, the only survivor left facing the Black Rabbit. "You fool. Human kind knows nothing and yet you come knocking on our very doors. When _he_ shows up the CCG is done for. That is… if you even live to see it".

Mitsugi coughs up copious amounts of blood and, with Saiko's assistance, staggers to his feet. "Mitsugi. Don't overdo it ok? This is an SS rated ghoul we're dealing with here you know…"

The First Class nods and looks over at Ayato who was standing and waiting for another attack. "This Black Rabbit is serious… He's not going to let us past is he?...

Urie catches up to Noro and Hiyori as they stop suddenly. The investigators stood before the Cathedrals outer wall and ghouls fired down at them from the turrets. Hiyori sneers and suddenly the entire wall erupts as the blood of those ghouls sprays into the air. "Pathetic…"

An echoing footstep causes the area to go silent, and the investigators turn to look at the man walking out from an archway in the wall. Shinohara holds a hand up to stop Urie going forward. "SS rated Tatari… He's supposedly the right hand of the One Eyed King…" He motions for Juuzou to join him as they advance between Tatari and the others. "You take Hiyori, Amon and Noro forward. We'll take care of Tatari for you to slip past".

Not three seconds after he says this Tatari strikes out with his Kagune, sweeping several investigators off their feet. Shinohara releases Arata Prota and his Quinque S rate. Juuzou leaps forward, attempting to slice Tatari in half with Jason. The fight goes on as Urie and the others slip past, running up the stairs towards the main entrance of the ruins.

Tatari looks at Juuzou's Quinque as it flys towards him. "Oh. So that's where you ended up Yamori. I suppose it's only natural for the weak to feed the strong, isn't that what you said?" He activates his Kakugan eyes and grasps Jason around the handle with his Kagune. He swings Juuzou and send him flying back out of the archway, leaving Shinohara to face the ghoul alone.

The Special Class Investigator sighs. "I suppose your master told you to split us up also?" Tatari stares at him for a while, then nods while lashing out several times with his Kagune. "You humans will not win here today you realise that don't you? Yet you who boasts so much experience and wisdom decides to come along for the ride. I must say… You don't seem to live up to your reputation!"

He finds a gap in Shinohara's defence and thrusts his Kagune past the investigators Quinque smashing the Arata armour into pieces. Shinohara falls back, clutching his wounded side. Tatari advances towards him…

Urie stands before the great front doors of the cathedral, the others fanning out behind him as they watch the wooden doors open from within. A deep growling sound ensues from the hallway, and Amon steps forward. "It's here… The One Eyed Owl…"

Eto barges out into the open with her Kakuja, swinging her arms wildly in an attempt to catch one or two by surprise. Instead, Urie and Amon leap into the air while Hiyori and Noro dive to the left and right, their Quinque swinging. She swears under her breath and strikes out in all directions with her giant shards, causing the investigators to back off.

"Fuck. As if we would have her in one attack. Stay on your toes guys. We're arguably the CCG's best at current but this is a SSS rated ghoul for a reason". Noro nods smiling. Hiyori however possesses a look of grim determination. She walks forward, effortlessly deflecting an attack by the Owl from her right with Ixa Mark II. Eto smiles, her Kakuja maw making the gesture look menacing. "You remind me a lot of _that_ man. The Reaper, but he's dead now isn't he?" Hiyori stiffens, then lets out a cry of rage and throws herself into battle with the One Eyed Owl. Bringing Ixa Mark II between them, she twists her body so that suddenly she is behind Eto, piercing her Kakuja with the Quinque.

Eto screams in pain then swipes at the First Class, grazing her arm very badly. She falls back, bloodied arm barely attached to her shoulder. Urie steps forward now, pushing the younger Arima behind him. "You're good, I'll give you that, But Skill is only tempered by experience"…

Sizing up the injured Owl, he quickly decides that it's possible to defeat her. Using Ginkui to slash both her wings off simultaneously, he locks his blade with her claws. "You don't seem to be trying to kill us Owl. Why is that? Why won't you kill me?" Eto growls and shoves him back, her Kakuja slowly regenerating but her pride tarnished.

" _To think that I could be wounded so by mere humans…"_

Urie starts in surprise. The One Eyed Owl was talking to him as their organisation crumbled around them. "You're finished Owl. Aogiri is finished".

The Owl shakes her head, grinning. _"Not by a long way Special Class Urie. At last he has you right where he wants you…"_

Urie frowns. "Who is he? Who is the leader of Aogiri?" As he says this, a booming vibration rocks the island. Eto rises on her hind legs, her face to the moon. _"He's here…"_

At the same moment, Ayato and Tatari both stop their own battles and look up at the moon, their newly given Kakuja forms manifesting around them. Both ghouls leap high into the air, landing on the roof above the door where Eto stood. Everyone looks up as a figure walks into view, standing between the wolfish forms of Ayato and Tatari, armour inching over his body.

Noro trembles as the raw vibrations from the newcomer fill his body. Looking at his visored face, he sees only one red Kakugan eye in the mask. "The One Eyed King…" Urie's eyes dart towards the young man to see him getting cold sweats, an ominous feeling causing even Hiyori Arima to step back and have their breath choke.

The armoured ghoul has snow white hair and looks down at the hundreds of ghoul corpses littered all the way from the shore to the steps of the cathedral. The mouthpiece on his Kakuja visor opens…

" _Welcome to our abode, Special Class Kuki Urie… I've been waiting for you"._

Urie snarls and steps forward even though his very bones tell him to run. To flee the island and never return. "Who are you.… King of the ghouls… Am I to get any answers as to why you make this world the way it is?"

The One Eyed King laughs richly, and Amon shoves Urie out of the way as a jet black Kagune limb bursts through the earth. As it reaches its pinnacle, the King flexes his Kakahou, causing dozens of slightly smaller Kagune to branch out from the original, flying towards Amon and Urie with deadly accuracy. Urie closes his eyes and prepares for the end.

A loud clash ensues and Urie opens his eyes and dives to the left away from the Kagune that had been deflected off a Quinque. Hiyori looks over her shoulder at the Special Class and sighs. "You weren't thinking of giving up were you Special Class Urie? This is the One Eyed King. The leader of Aogiri….If we eliminate him here the Tree will no longer pose a threat to humanity".

Urie stares incredulously at the First Class Investigator. _She certainly is related to Kishou Arima all right. The way that she casually suggests we eliminate possibly the most powerful ghoul there is here and now._ He rolls his shoulders and indicates for Special Class Ui to follow him. Ui, I will take on The Owl, so you take care of Black Rabbit and Tatari got it?" Ui nods his affirmation and the two investigators circle around the courtyard to the left and right.

Atop the building, the Kaneki nods for Ayato and Tatari to intercept Koori Ui. He watches as Eto, now fully healed from earlier get to her feet and slam down on top of Urie as he reaches the doorway. Kaneki retracts his Kagune and leaps down into the courtyard before Noro, Hiyori and Amon.

" _It saddens me that it has come to this. I never wished for you to come here… Fools"._

Amon and Noro pause while Hiyori activates Ixa Mark II and thrusts out towards the ghoul with all her might. Kaneki catches the spear-like Quinque with two Kagune and delivers a savage kick to the woman's chest, sending her flying into a wall. She miraculously spins mid-air in order to leap off the wall back towards him, Ixa swinging.

She ducks under his first attack, driving Ixa Mark II into the concrete beneath him. Feeling the vibration, Kaneki darts to the side and grazes Hiyori badly with his Kagune. She jumps back, breathing heavily and clutching her wounded side while leaning in Ixa.

Noro now steps in with Centipede at the ready while Amon still stays behind, frozen in place. Hiyori glares at the One Eyed King. "How ironic this is… An all-powerful ghoul that was always considered a myth here on Rue Island clashing with investigators. I wonder what drove you to the other side, Ken Kaneki."

Noro's eyes widen and Amon merely takes a shaky breath. He had known this would happen eventually, just not in what form. Hiyori smiles as Kaneki stops attacking and stands there.

"Well? Aren't you going to give up now, start sobbing and say sorry to your friends? This isn't a playground you know". Kaneki stares into her eyes emotionlessly, making the young Arima squirm.

" _You know nothing about me, young Arima… Yes I know who you are. It's easy to guess while battling you. You move similarly to Kishou Arima"._ He steps forward again and suddenly unleashes over 12 Kagune limbs, each one twisting and lashing mid-air.

" _You may be the sister of the now not-so-unbeatable Reaper, but know this… You will never understand me. You're only human after all"._

Hiyori activates Ixa Mk II's defence mode just in time to deflect the oncoming barrage of Kagune as Kaneki smiles and drives her backwards. She hadn't expected him to be so mentally stable. A crack appears in the shield and she jumps away, snickering. "I underestimated him…"

Several razor sharp Red tentacles graze the side of Kaneki's Kakuja armour but the Quinque fails to scratch the surface. Turning to face his former student Kaneki cocks his head. Noro glares.

"Don't give me that sorrowful look you bastard. You abandoned us! You want humanity to fall?"

Kaneki's Kagune lashes out and strikes Noro square in the shoulder, breaking the bone and causing the First Class Investigator to drop to one knee.

" _Noro… I don't want humanities doom. I want only what I've always wanted, peace. But the CCG? They're under the control of Kaiko and V. How could I continue working under such a hypocritical organization? It's a pity. I'm not sure if this is the right path to take but it's my own and that is my decision! Take my advice and leave this place, all of you! You'll only end up getting hurt or killed and believe it or not, I don't want that to happen"._

Amon uses his Doujima to bat away the Kagune that struck out at Noro once more. He smiles. "I get it Kaneki. You want the downfall of V just as much as I do. But are you sure this is the right way? Joining Aogiri Tree? Leading it?"

Kaneki lashes out again but Amon slices right through the limb with his Quinque. "I'll do as I please Amon. Please… Don't do this…"

Amon leaps forward and slashes a few more Kagune in half before he is standing directly before Kaneki. The two lock blades, Kaneki's made of Kagune and Amon actives his Kakugan and unleashes his own Kagune. Two One Eyed Ghouls lock Kagune and stand there in stalemate.

"Kaneki. I won't pretend to understand what you're doing. You want to achieve something but you don't know what yet. And all you know it that the only way to defeat Kaiko and v is to oppose the CCG… I must disagree. What you're doing is wrong and will only end in your ruin!"

Kaneki now releases 10 more Kagune, making the total 25 limbs. He breaks through Amons defence and thrusts all Kagune towards him at once, only for them to be dual-countered by Noro and Hiyori with Centipede and Ixa Mk II. The two First Class Investigators step forward to engage him again but Amon grabs them and begins walking towards the beach. "We need to leave. We cannot win here".

Hiyori strains against his iron grip. "But he's right there! He's the one who killed my brother! Let me fight him please!" Noro is silent as the three investigators crest the top of the stairs and retreat down the sloping face of the island, Kaneki watching them go.

He clenches his fist and retracts his Kagune, the Kakuja armour evaporating around him as the desire to fight drains from his body. He sighs, going to check on Eto and the others. "He's right… They're all right but… I don't care. I must do this… I… I must!" He begins tearing up and looks up as Eto walks towards him, her own Kakuja evaporating as Ayato and Tatari follow. They all have minor injuries, cuts and bruises, but alive. Kaneki wipes the tears away and smiles.

"Looks like those guys gave it their all. We need to be more prepared next time. I didn't expect Urie to have become so strong..."

Eto nods in agreement. "He managed to give me a few wallops that's for certain. But we won right?" She turns and watches the remains of the extermination force march back onto the barges and sail for the 1st Ward Portland. Tatari coughs. "There's one thing I don't understand. Where was Donato Popora? Ever since Amon Kotarou released him from Cochlea they've been inseparable…" Kaneki shrugs. I don't know. But we need to clean up and start planning our next move. The CCG's opening play has ended". He breathes in, revitalising his resolve after the emotional battle and cracks his finger. "Now it's our turn…

Arata opens his eyes and stares at the dark hallway outside his cell. He had been sleeping deeply when a strange feeling had washed over him. "Who's there?"

A hooded man steps into the light of the single light outside the cell. His wrinkled hands push back the hood to reveal his smiling face. Donato Popora faces Arata through the Quinque Steel bars.

"Good evening Arata Kirishima. Fancy meeting you down here…"

 **End Tokyo Ghoul Zenith 08**

" **What does the Priest want with the Caged Bird?!"**

 **Next time: Wings of Wax**


	9. Chapter 9 - Wings of Wax

_Encroaching darkness. A paved square before a great glass tower. Men armoured and armed with guns and swords. An Angle of Death, is wings slicing the men to pieces…._

 _Noro darts out of the way as one of those wings swing out to behead him. Looking into the Angels eyes, filled with such hatred and pain, Urie swing Ginkui and the Angel roaring in anger whilst severing his arm. Urie stumbles backwards, dropping to his knee as blood gushes from the wound. As more and more of his friends die about him, Noro sinks to his own knees and begins to wail in sorrow. His entire world crumbles about his as he-_

Noro sits up straight from his bed and clutches at his face, feeling the cold sweat dripping down his brow. Opening the glass door and stepping out onto the balcony, he takes in a slow, deep breath and exhales. It was still the middle of the night. "Just a nightmare… Calm down Noro Schneider…"

He leans over the railing and looks over Tokyo Bay at the moonlit form of Rue Island. A shiver bristles down his spine as the battle with Kaneki came back to him. "Damn. Why have you chosen Aogiri Special Class Kaneki? We could have died back there". He snickers, walking inside and grabbing a drink from the fridge.

"He wasn't even trying that hard and we were still only able to counter him if we were lucky. Amon-san managed to slice his Kagune but he has so many now that it doesn't matter… We've made ourselves a powerful enemy alright. I wonder if he's gotten stronger mentally too. Huh. Oh well. It's your turn now. Show me that you're doing the right thing because right now I hate your guts Ken Kaneki…"

Arata stands and puts his hands around the bars of his cell and stares at Donato smiling before him. "What the hell are you doing here Priest? If I were you I wouldn't come back here…"

The infamous ghoul raises an eyebrow. "I just thought you would like to see your son. But if that's the way you want to talk then…"

He turns to leave when Arata grabs him through the bars, ignoring the stinging pain of contact with the steel. "What did you say?! How do you know about that?"

Donato shrugs. "When you've been around as long as I have you pick up a thing or two. Yes, I know of your first. I even know of Claudia".

Arata loosens his grip and sighs. "You bastard… If you know of Ken Kaneki then tell me. Why are you here really?"

The Priest smiles thinly. "I know that he has been through so much pain. He's lost his identity and regained it only to wish himself dead. He's encountered so much tragedy yet he's overcome them all. At this moment my son Amon is most likely battling him on Rue Island. He will lose, because your son has become strong… Yet here you are. The father who crumbled into nothing at the first hurdle…"

Kirishima glares at him, growling. "You think I'm not aware of that? Of my failure to protect any of my children? I can only be happy that all my children still breathe"… Donato sighs, shaking his head. "It seems I can't motivate you anymore… Well, perhaps I'll drop in on Ken Kaneki and let slip that his long dead father rots in Cochlea's deepest chamber… Hell, even the Owl wasn't interred this deeply and she has a higher rating than you…"

Arata shakes his head. "Kaneki won't bother to come for me. I'm nothing and if what you say is true, then he gained strength where I could not. He conquered his mind. I'm just sad that he ended up being dragged into the ghoul world. Do you know?"

Donato nods as he turns to leave silently. "When you and Claudia conceived him, he was born an ordinary human. Akhira Kanou gave him a Kakahou from Rize Kamishiro but…"

He looks Arata in the eyes over his shoulder. "That Kakahou evolved. Kaneki's own body adapted it and changed it. His natural ghoulish body made him from an artificial ghoul into a true one eye…"

Stepping back into the darkness, Donato says his farewells. "Let us see if your eldest deems you worthy enough to save. Be warned though. No matter what happens, even if his mind has been made up… Ken Kaneki is the One Eyed King. He leads Aogiri to defeat Kaiko…"

Kaneki walks into the department store changing room as he snags a light grey scarf off the hanger. Wrapping the accessory around his head and face, he smiles behind the masking garment. His Eyepatch mask had become far too recognisable over the years, leading him to look for alternative means of concealment in public. The grey went well with his white hair and he donned a pair of glasses to complete the look. Stepping back into the store, he pays the cashier and walks outside to meet Eto across the street.

Looking him up and down, she winks. "You certainly have good taste. Very… intellectual…"

He groans as she hugs his chest tightly while a man wearing a grey coat walks past. Kaneki looks at him but Eto pushes his face into her shoulder, the two ghouls looking like two teens making out.

"Shh you idiot that's an Investigator. Do you really want to make a scene here?"

Kaneki pushes her away as his phone begins beeping frantically. Raising the device to his ear he looks over at Eto. "Kaneki. Yes I'm in the area why? What?! Popora what are you say- Fine, we'll be there soon". Placing the mobile in his pocket he frowns, motioning for Eto to follow him.

"What's going on? Was that Donato?"

Kaneki nods grimly, keeping a brisk walk to the East. "He's at Cochlea and he says he found my father…"

Eto exhales deeply, then bites her lip. Seeing this, Kaneki raises an eyebrow. "Another secret that everyone informed in this world kept from me?"

She nods.

"Something I'll have to see myself?"

She nods again and Kaneki snickers. "Fine. Let's go". The two of them suddenly jump to the top of the low roofed apartment block to their left and make their way towards the imposing figure of Cochlea in the distance…

Donato turns as the two young ghouls crest the hill he stands on, smiling at them. "Ah, Kaneki my dear boy. It's been awhile since we last spoke hasn't it?" The One Eye shrugs.

"Indeed. One would think Amon would have been hiding you away somewhere to keep you safe hmm?"

The Priest also shrugs. "What Amon chooses to do is none of my concern. While he refuses to see merit in the path you have chosen, I have been working to make life easier for you. That is until I learned that your father was awake…"

Eto frowns and Kaneki sighs. "Awake? So he was asleep for over 20 years? You're not making any sense Donato". The ghoul smiles, stepping to the side and presenting Cochlea before them. "Then If you don't wish for my old talk find him yourself. Your Father lies in the deepest cell of the prison, and he's waiting for you. Go now while the guard shift is switching".

Kaneki leaps past him and begins scaling the high walls until he stands at its top looking down at Eto and Donato. "Wait for me here. I'll go in alone…" And with that he leaps down the other side into the Ghoul Prison Cochlea…

Arata looks up from his arms as he hears yet more commotion further down the hall. "Another visitor? Jeez am I popular today". He sighs, thinking back on his conversation with Donato earlier. If his eldest son, Ken Kaneki wanted to truly save him, then destiny itself would draw them closer. If not, Arata would rot in this cell forever.

He is about to go back to sleep when a loud crash issues forth from the end of the dark hallway. A guard runs past, only to be impaled and catapulted backwards into a wall by a long, black appendage. Arata's eyes widen. "K…Kagune…"

The cell block returns to sudden silence…. Until echoing footsteps begin making their way towards Arata's cell. One step, then another as a figure steps into view, obscured by shadow. The light in the hall suddenly activates, the shadow retreating to the corners of the room. The Corpse Picker looks up into the cloudy grey eyes of a young, white haired ghoul, his single Kakugan glinting in the light.

This newcomer cocks his head to the side, his Kagune dissipating and Arata noticing that the One Eyed Ghoul had been using more than 12 Kagune at once. "Who are you?" The young man's voice reverberates through the cell and Arata stands up to face him through the bars.

"Are you Ken Kaneki? Are you my son?" Kaneki raises his eyebrows at the revelation that this ghoul thought he was his son. "I'll say it again. Who are you? You look like Ayato Kirishima but Ayato is back on Rushima…"

Arata gasps as his other son's name hits him like a brick. Grasping his shoulders through the cell bars, Arata shakes Kaneki. "You know my children? You know Touka and Ayato?"

Kaneki's eyes widen as the revelation hits him. "Arata Kirishima… So you're alive". His Kagune suddenly strikes out, reducing the Quinque Steel bars to small pieces. Pulling him out of the cell into the hall, Kaneki starts walking back towards the main atrium of Cochlea but Arata stops. The One Eye turns in annoyance and sighs. "What is it? I'm trying to get you out of here you know. Damn that Donato. He sent me down here saying that my long dead father was still alive and was… awake. So excuse me if I'm a little impatient right now!"

Arata thins his lips throughout Kaneki's verbal lashing. Taking his arm to the young man's face, he cups Kaneki's chiselled cheek. "You truly do take after your mother Ken… Claudia was a wonderful woman…"

Kaneki's eyes widen a fraction. "W…What do you mean my mother? You knew her?" Arata smiles at the man with his eyes closed. "Did I know her? Ken, I made _you_ with her. Don't you see? _I'm_ your father…"

"D…Dad?" Kaneki's eyes brim with sudden tears as he realises that Arata was speaking the truth. Arata takes the young man in his embrace as Kaneki breaks down and begins sobbing. "I'm so sorry my son… I will tell you everything some time I promise. Your mother was wonderful, but she was human... and she changed… I couldn't stay with you, and that killed her in the end.

Kaneki continues crying for a long time before he stops shaking and faces his father. "But you are also Touka and Ayato's father? You took Hikari Kirishima as your second wife. I… I think I understand now". Arata nods, taking in his eldest son's image. "You've been through so much already. I'm sorry".

Kaneki also nods. "I've made so many mistakes dad. I wanted to die. I didn't want to win anymore". Arata shrugs. "You may know that I went through the same stage. I wanted to protect what I had left so I became stronger, but at the price of my life… I've been down here 20 years being a subject for the CCG's… weapons"

Suddenly, dozens of guards step out into the Atrium, surrounding the two ghouls. A single Investigator steps out of the ring into the light and faces them.

"SS rated Corpse Eater… What are you doing out of your cell? Will I have to punish another ghoul today?" Arata scowls. "It's her… Special Class Investigator Naomi Ryuga. She's the disciplinary officer stationed here in Cochlea. Whenever any S rated ghouls or above escape, she is sent to intercept them. Be careful Kaneki. She's dangerous".

The Special Class seems to notice another opponent and her eyes narrow as she identifies him. "SSS rated… One Eyed King…"

Arata turns on Kaneki as fast as lightning. " _What?!_ One Eyed King? I thought that he was a myth!" Kaneki shrugs as he crouches low and removes his glasses and scarf. "I'm currently serving the role as Aogiri Tree's leader, so yes, I am the One Eyed King… Now stay back. I'll take care of this".

Namoi Ryuga releases her Quinque, a grotesque looking blade with twisting jaws and teeth. Kaneki scowls as he see's it. "SSS Rated Liberty. Given to me by the late Kishou Arima as a birthday present. Wasn't that nice of him?... The Reaper will be _avenged!"_

She darts forward, Liberty racing towards the One Eye when Kaneki unleashes 15 Kagune limbs, some halting the path of the Quinque, others circling around to strike the investigator from behind. Ryuga laughs, dodging out of the way and landing lightly. "This seems to be my lucky day. All other cases of investigators engaging you have been in Kakuja form. It seems that without it you aren't as fast!"

She swings Liberty, only for several black Kagune to burst from the floor behind her. Her eyes widen and she twists her body so Liberty is between her and the oncoming Kagune. Kaneki smiles and cracks his finger as his Kagune pierces the Quinque's structural centre, shattering the blade instantly.

"That weapons name isn't Liberty. It's a restructured "Owl", remade out of the original Quinque's remains after _I_ destroyed it. It's far weaker than the original however…" The investigator glares at him as he motions for Arata to follow him. "I'd suggest you just let us go. Draw on your _humanity_ and spare more deaths from the guards here ok?" She continues to glare at him hatefully as the two ghouls walk through Cochlea's great doors to the outside…

Touka looks up from her homework as Ayato barges through the door into the café. He stands there, panting and his mobile phone clutched in his hand. "What are you doing here Ayato? I thought you wanted to stay on Rushima…"

The raven haired young man collapses onto an armchair next to Touka's table. "You…You haven't heard from Kaneki in a while right?"

She nods, indicating for her brother to keep his voice down. "Quiet. Hinami is asleep upstairs. So what's the problem? You look like you just ran straight here from Rushima yourself…" Ayato nods and Touka raises an eyebrow.

"Kaneki just broke into Cochlea and he says he has our pop with him…" Her eyes widen as what he says hits her like a brick wall. "Dad?... How is that even possible? He can't be alive".

Ayato grunts and folds his arms, waving Touka back down as she rises to make him a Coffee. "That's what I said too, but Kaneki seems to think that he's the real deal. He sounded very happy, actually…"

He's about to tell Touka that Kaneki would be here soon when the doorbell rings as two men step through the entrance to :re. Kaneki steps in to allow Arata to enter and behold his two younger children. Ayato's eyebrow's raise and his fist clenches. Touka however, her eyes widen and brim with tears. She's about to breath in and suppress her emotion when Kaneki leans in and whispers in her ear.

" _Let it out, Touka"._

She runs to Arata and tackles him in an embrace that even Ayato joins. "We thought you were dead pops. I hated you for so long because I thought your lust for power had defeated you…" As Kaneki hear Ayato say this he winces internally. It reminded him all too well of his past mistakes.

For a solid ten minutes the Kirishima family reunite and talk with each other deeply and huddled close together. After some time, Arata looks up and steps next to Kaneki, patting him on the back. "Kaneki here is the one who got me out of Cochlea. He even took on a Special Class investigator with a SSS class Quinque… and won!" He laughs merrily, then becomes serious again and turns to address Touka.

"Touka… I've told you and your brother many lies in order to protect you, but one greater than all. I always told you that you were the eldest but… Well. I had another partner before I met your mother. A human woman whose name was Claudia…"

Ayato looks confused while Touka frowns. "Okay… But who _is_ the eldest if not me?"… Arata looks at Kaneki from the corner of his eye. Kaneki sighs. "Touka… Claudia was my mother… and Arata is my father…"

Her face switches from confusion, to disbelief, then shock. Her eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, and Ayato's mouth sags. "Wh…What? _You're related to us?_ "

The One Eyed King nods, raising his eyebrows as the Irony hits them both. "That's…wow. I didn't know…" Kaneki suddenly breaks into laughter as her reaction has him wheezing. "You think I was aware of this before recently? I'd always assumed my father had ran away or was dead. That's what my mother had always told me…"

The newly reunited family sits around a table with hot Coffee in their hands. Arata takes a sip and sighs in pleasure. "It's been far too long since I've had a good cup of Coffee in my hands. So Touka, Ayato, I hear you two got up to some mischief over these past 20 years".

Touka laughs. " _We_ got into some mischief? Look who's sitting next to you father. Kaneki has had… an eventful 20 years". Kaneki raises his hands in surrender as Arata looks oddly at both his sons. "So you two are part of Aogiri Tree? They didn't exist back when I was free… You know that Aogiri isn't a very nice organisation right?"

Ayato leans on the table on one arm. "Listen, pops. I made that decision all on my own because I wanted to get stronger. I chose a different way to you…. And Kaneki". Arata nods, then turns to Kaneki. "Arat- Father. I'm the leader of Aogiri Tree because I chose to become the One Eyed King. I've been through so much that I just had enough of not deciding. Deciding whether I wanted to live or die. Deciding to win or fail. This time it's my turn to choose my own way alright? Father or not you can't decide for me on this".

Arata sighs. "Look. I can't say I know what you mean. You've overcome so much while I tripped on the first hurdle. You want to protect. You want to defeat Kaiko and V, who have made everyone's lives hell, human and ghoul. You want to win. Is that who you are?"

Kaneki looks into his coffee cup with slitted eyes. "That's just who I am. I've finally chosen I don't know how long this path will be but… I fear it's almost my turn in this great game of ours…."

Akhira Kanou stands up from his bunk as Yoshitoki Washuu walks into the interrogation room. The Commander asks the guards to leave them in private and he sits down. "Doctor Kanou… My people have been through much to track you down…" The infamous Half-Ghoul creator laughs and sits down opposite the Washuu Leader.

"We aren't being recorded if CCG policy is still the same. Cut the sweet talk and tell me what you want me for". Yoshitoki nods silently. "Very well. You were instructed by Kaiko to distract me correct?" Kanou shrugs. "He contacted me in order to instruct me to travel to Berlin and that a group of investigators would be coming to take me into custody. This was after my agent, Nimura Furata was slain".

The Commander nods again. "You do know that the true nature of the CCG and V must remain buried at all costs right? Imagine if Ken Kaneki the One Eyed King was to find out that we don't just collaborate, we're the same group!"

Kanou frowns. "Yes Ken Kaneki… He's no longer just my prototype any longer. His Kakahou has evolved which leads me to believe that… one of his parents was a ghoul in the first place… You know who I mean"

"The Corpse Picker. Arata Kirishima, or more accurately, Arata Kaneki. You're right. So that's who busted him out of Cochlea last night… Ken Kaneki… He could become a problem very soon. He's competently leading Aogiri in such a way that will spell the end of the CCG in a matter of months. He _will_ come for us because he thinks that the only way to get to Kaiko is through me. He's right, but still…"

Kanou laughs. "You're concerned that your well-groomed investigator finally cut all of the chains. He's getting closer though. What will you do? See, if it comes to that, I know that he might have to be eliminated".

"I know. But for now, I believe we need to speak with Kaiko…" As he says this, a man walks through the door into the interrogation room. He wears a pork pie hat, white mask and a heavy black trench coat. "Yoshitoki Washuu and Akhira Kanou. It's been a long time since we met like this…"

The Commander of the CCG rises and bows to another man. But this man was… Kaiko. "Kaiko-san. It's an honour to have you here". Kaiko waves him down and high fives Kanou who holds his hand out.

"Now, let's get to it. Ken Kaneki is now a threat…" The two other men nod in agreement. This much was obvious. "He's in a position where Aogiri Tree grows in strength every day. At this rate, the CCG won't be able to hold them down any longer. So, we need to exploit his weakness".

Yoshitoki frowns. "You know the One Eyed King's weakness?" Kaiko nods.

"Despair. He's finally put his life back together as a whole. But what if we sent a squad of Special Class V Agents to eliminate someone close to him?... If we destroy everything he holds dear, Aogiri Tree will crumble, and his mind along with it. He'll end up doing something reckless and getting himself killed".

And just like that, Kaiko had decided, so he would leave. Walking towards the door, he laughs softly. "Thus will end the story of Ken Kaneki. The one who tried, but still got no closer to me than any other…"

" **The chains of fate come to entrap the King! Has Ken Kaneki's fate been decided?"**

 **End Tokyo Ghoul: Zenith 09**

 **Next time: The Gates of Righteousness Crumble…**


	10. Chapter 10 - As Righteousness Crumbles

" **The beginning of the end…"**

Eto looks out over the northern mountains bordering Tokyo province. A warm summer breeze wafts through her pale green hair, tickling her scalp. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath before turning to face the biggest decision in her life. A decrepit old man stands watching her from afar. His skin is deathly pale and it seems that he's barely capable of walking.

"Father… Your usefulness has come to an end it seems". She says nothing more, and Yoshimura sighs mournfully, the last vestiges of hope draining from his heart that his daughter could once again love him as her parent. "My Eto… This… is all my fault. If I hadn't gotten your mother killed, if I hadn't made the mistake of working for Kaiko, would you still be able to feel anything in your heart?"

The infamous One Eyed Owl growls and turns on him, pushing her aging father to the ground. _"You dare to speak to me in such a way? As If I could forgive the things you did! You are dead to me, Kuzen Yoshimura!"_

Yoshimura nods slowly, rubbing his face where he'd been struck. "So you're going to dispose of me then? Kanou has joined Kaiko now, your experiments are at an end…" He looks at the same pristine vista of the mountains again, his eyes closing. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry… Please. My time here is over but, at least help Kaneki. He is the only one who can save you now…"

Eto's face screws up in disgust as her father begins sobbing. She closes her eyes again, then unleashes her Kagune and promptly rips Yoshimura's head from his body. The form of Kuzen Yoshimura drops of the edge of the embankment, swallowed up by the great trees below… Eto turns to leave and she spots Kaneki walking towards her, Arata and Touka behind him.

"Eto… What have you done? Did Kuzen really deserve to die?"

She smiles without mirth nor mercy. "Of course not. He was too far gone for anything but eternal slumber… Don't dwell on it my King. It's none of your concern…"

Kaneki's eyes harden but he says nothing, instead taking her arm and embracing her closely. Bringing his mouth up to her ear, he whispers…

" _Eto Yoshimura…Why do you fight?"_

The question hits her mercilessly and she pulls away from him, horrified. She is about to lash out, calling him a fool when she stops, and just standing there… _Why do I fight? I… don't know. I've been fighting so long now but… is there a reason?"_

Kaneki smiles as he sees her thinking over the question frantically. "It's ok Eto. You don't have to answer it right away. Your Father's last words to me have been fulfilled. Eto frowns, remembering him bringing it up in one of their battles many years ago. _Your father, Kuzen. He asked that I save you…_

Walking away from her, he turns to Touka. "You need to stay back at :re ok? This war is about to get even bigger… Dad. Are you sure you want to join us?"

Arata nods. "I've never been surer about anything in my life Kaneki. Let's go"….

Amon walks with Noro and Hiyori around the Central Atrium of Cochlea on a routine patrol. Ever since the CCG's defeat on Rue Island, and the recent infiltration of Cochlea by the One Eyed King, Yoshitoki Washuu had ordered that Cochlea have a permanent squad of at least one Special Class investigator and two First Class or Associate Special Classes with them in order to secure the facility against other attacks.

Hiyori stops to check a cell block on her side of the walkway. Everything was quiet in the S rated sector. Amon looks at her through the corner of his eye. After Noro had saved her during the battle with Kaneki, she had seemed incapable of being away from him. In fact, the cold, calculating and somewhat violently efficient young Arima had taken quite a liking to her fellow First Class. He smiles, thinking back to his first days with Akira as his pupil.

 _It's been so long since I saw her. Ever since I became…. A half blood, she couldn't get far enough away from me…_ He groans inwardly at his own silly issues as he reports to Special Class Naomi Ryuga, the disciplinary officer of Cochlea. She scowls as she takes in Noro and Amon. "I still can't believe we have half _ghoul_ investigators… The Irony".

Amon frowns. "Special Class Ryuga. Please show some maturity and refrain from derogatory remarks on our superior combat records… using our _own_ Quinque's". The officer fumes at this while Noro and Hiyori struggle not to burst out laughing as they continue their patrol. A grinding sound from above catches Amon's attention, and he looks up to see Quinque Steel shavings sprinkling down from the ceiling. A low rumbling sound follows, and the investigator swears as he draws his Quinque. Noro and Hiyori follow suit, confused.

"You're fucking kidding me? _Here?"_

As Amon says this, a black appendage suddenly breaks through the ceiling, followed by countless cracks and splinters. And with that, the great circular doors of Cochlea shatter into thousands of pieces. Robed Aogiri ghouls float down into the prison, blocking out the moonlight. Amon strikes out at a few of them with his Doujima, catching them unawares. Noro uses Centipede to rip through dozens of ghouls, their dying screams echoing to the base of the prison. Hiyori unleashes Ixa Mk II and slaughters over 10 ghouls at once with its Remote Activation mode, blood dripping into her hair.

Amon swears again. "Damn it! This isn't just another breakout… Kaneki plans on taking control of Cochlea entirely… We have to stop him!"

Leaping over the railing, he is pulled quickly back by Hiyori as a colossal figure drops down onto the bottom of the Atrium, the SS sector. Noro whistles low and long. "Shit… It's the Owl. Special Class Amon! We need to intercept her! The three of us together have a chance of defeating her right?"

Amon simply nods and proceeds to jump the railing again, dropping down in front of Eto as Cochlea's guards engage the Aogiri forces around him. Noro drops down beside him. "Hiyori's gone upstairs to see if she can find Kaneki"…

Amon rolls his eyes. "That fool…. Fine. We don't have time to chase after her now. There are bigger problems…" Eto turns to face Amon and Noro, her grotesque Kakuja lips grinning widely.

" _Isn't this cute. Are you really going to put that young man through hell Amon Kotarou?"_

His eyes harden and he raises Doujima before him, sighing. "Noro… leave, please". Noro shakes his head stubbornly. "We aren't going to die here Amon… We can defeat the Owl together…" As he says this, Ryuga emerges from a nearby doorway, drenched in the blood of ghouls and glaring at Eto.

"YOU! Filthy One Eyed Owl, Die!" Amon raises his hand. "Naomi stop! Stay back!" She ignores him and raises Liberty, newly repaired after Kaneki broke it previously and swipes with impossible speed at the Owl, catching Eto's arm mid-air. The One Eyed Owl giggles manically.

" _You truly are a pathetic insect. You're in my way, just disappear…"_ Amon's mouth opens to scream but the sight before him stays with him forever… Eto snaps Liberty In half effortlessly, scooping the Special Class investigator into her clawed hand and grasping the other leg. Ryuga's face widens in pain and horror as she feels her legs slowly being pulled apart. Noro closes his eyes and falls to his knees as the woman's body is loudly torn asunder, her hot blood stinging as it sprays across his chest and face.

Amon slowly lowers his shaking hand as the Owl raises Naomi Ryuga's body and drops it into her open maw. Loud crunching noises followed by Eto gulping contentedly as her Kakuja's belly swells. Using the remaining leg, Eto picks at the leftover meat in her teeth. Noro opens his eyes, getting to his feet slowly and raising Centipede. The Owl turns to grin at him.

" _Oh? So you have the guts to try and attack me then? I think I like you boy. Wonder what you taste like!"_

She lunges for him, but the First Class activates Centipede which branches out in all directions, then spiralling inwards to impale her from multiple angles. Eto's eyes bulge and she screams in pain while thrashing around. Noro is knocked into a wall and lays there, dazed. Stomping towards him, she begins spurting complete crazed gibberish.

" _Trash! Utter tasty smelly trash! Come here my dearie. Mummy will keep you nice and WARM!"_ Amon darts in front of her and blocks her deadly shards with the upper part of his Doujima armour. He falls to one knee, and Eto strikes him savagely with more shards, Noro receiving countless cuts also. She picks them both up, one in each claw and leaps upwards towards the roof. As they crest the top of Cochlea, she spins in the air and lets them go, flying into the outer wall of the compound and sliding to the ground, unconscious…

Hiyori stands upon the remains of the circular door of Cochlea and surveys the gruesome scene below her. Blood splatters the walls and screams of dying Guards echo upwards towards her. "Damn… We were absolutely slaughtered in there. Aogiri put so much effort and risk into this one attack, and the fuckers succeeded". She kicks the cold metal beneath her and retrieves her radio device from her back pocket.

"Command? This is First Class Arima radioing in from Cochlea. Aogiri has overrun the prison. I repeat, all the guards are dead and Special Class Ryuga is dead. Yes sir, Special Class Amon and First Class Noro engaged the Owl but were badly injured. Retreat? Are you sure you don't want us to wait for reinforcements? Uhh, yes sir. I'll see to them right away". She frowns as she stealthily makes her way down the side of the prison and sprints across the prison compound, finding Amon and Noro badly wounded at the base of the wall.

"What the hell is going on? The Commander took control and he wants us to just abandon Cochlea? Shit Shit Shit…" She drags the two investigators to the nearby cover of a guard posting, sliding down onto the floor and breathing heavily. Above her, the One Eyed Owl flies around Cochlea screeching. More Aogiri forces pour through the South Gate, quickly overwhelming and remaining human personnel. She looks down at the unconscious forms of Amon and Noro.

"That damn Owl… She really did a number on you two didn't she? What a fucking monster…"

As the Owl sets down upon the prisons roof, Tatari crests the great structure and raises a hand in greeting. "We have accomplished our mission, Eto. I am to stay here and secure Cochlea while you meet up with the King. Understood?" Eto's Kakuja evaporates around her and she steps down into Tatari's arms where he folds a garment over her nude body. She kicks the body of a fallen guard and stabs him through the chest with her Kagune.

"These foolish humans are pests and can only be dealt with in one way. Extermination… Yes, Tatari. I understand my duty". The right hand of the King nods and steps over the edge into Cochlea's depths to bring order to the chaos left by Eto's rampage. The Owl smiles at the image of all the blood again but suddenly she feels a painful sensation in her head. Images flash through her mind faster than she can make sense of them. Images from her past and future…

" _Why do you fight?..."_ Kaneki's question floats into her thoughts again accompanied by searing pain. _"I DON'T KNOW!"_ She winces and activates her Kakuja once more, leaping up and flying towards the inner city.

 _Is it because you want power? Protection? Revenge? ….Love_? Her eyes widen beneath the form of the Owl as she's forced to land by the turmoil inside her head. "What the fuck?! Kaneki what have you done to me?" And all of a sudden Kaneki stands before her, his grey scarf bunched around his neck.

"Eto… You've done a good job". They look down upon the smoke rising from Cochlea, curtesy of Tatari's current mission. She sighs. "But I didn't know why I did it… Why do I Kill? Why can't I be as strong as you? You know what you fight for don't you?"

Kaneki shrugs. "Honestly? I still don't know. I know there are things I want to do and see, but my reason for fighting? My reason for living? I don't know. All I Know is that others want me to live, so live I will". Eto nods, clenching and unclenching her fists. "Our first move has been carried out. Now we can only wait until-"

She's cut off by Kaneki as he spins around towards the northwest, his eyes widening. _Kaneki help!_ "Touka and Hinami! Quick let's go!" Eto frowns but she follows his lead as she leaps into the air, Kaneki landing nimbly on the back of her Kakuja. They fly towards the 20th Ward and :re….

Touka growls in anger as she spits out the blood pooling inside her mouth. The group of 7 Special Class V agents fanned out around the inside of the café, its walls burning around them. Hinami crouches behind Touka, but her eyes harden and he lashes out with her Kagune, killing one of the agents instantly. "I'm not going to let my place be destroyed a second time! Oni-chan will save us. I know he will!"

Touka sighs, releasing her Kagune and firing round after round at the agents to keep them back. Many try to strike at the women with their own Kagune, but the abilities of Touka and Hinami were well beyond their own. Just as the fight is turning in their favour, Touka swears as a Kagune materialises out of nowhere and impales her directly through the chest. As she drops to her knees, a man walks towards them, a gentle smile on his face. The intruder kneels down to pat Touka on the head.

"Such a beautiful woman. And the blood sister of Ken Kaneki… No wonder he tries his hardest to protect you. My name is Kaiko… and today will be your last". Touka glares at the ghoul who had her pinned to the wall. Hinami yells and darts between them, lashing out at Kaiko who frowns in annoyance at the intrusion.

"Who the hell are you? Get out of my way girl!" Touka opens her mouth to scream but the blood prevents her from doing so. Kaiko slashes Hinami across the chest viciously, her lifeblood dripping onto the floor as she collapses. Touka thrashes against the Kagune pinning her in place while Kaiko turns to address the loud screaming coming from outside… Kaneki kicks down the door, followed closely by Eto. Upon spotting Kaiko leaning over two prone forms, he unleashes his Kagune and clashes with Kaiko's own Kagune. As his own is shattered by the ferocity of Kaneki's attack, Kaiko rises to his feet and bows towards the One Eyed Ghoul.

"Welcome, Ken Kaneki. I've been looking forward to this meeting of ours. Oh, sorry about the mess. I'm just about to have my meal". Eto attempts to hold Kaneki back, but he pushes past her and lunges for the leader of V with his bare hands. _They're dead? They're all dead!_ Kaneki's mind dissolves as fast as he runs but Kaiko nimbly dodges the attack, smiling and impaling Kaneki through the abdomen with ease. The wound immediately heals, but Kaneki's Kakuja begins forming in a half-complete, deformed manner.

He roars in anguish as he falls in front of Touka's body hanging on the wall, and the still form of Hinami lying in a pool of her own blood. Eto attacks the rest of the agents, ripping them apart with her monstrous Kagune. Kaiko opens a cupboard to reveal the mutilated corpses of Nishio and Tsukiyama which drop down onto the floor. Kaneki's crazed half-Kakuja eye bulges as Kaiko sighs in disappointment.

"You know Kaneki, I really thought you would know better. I am the lord of this world, and everything in it can be given or taken away as I please. You are nothing but an upstart. Your name will be forgotten in oblivion… Farewell, I don't wish to fight you here, but perhaps you can come see me at the Gates of Righteousness. I believe that is the word you used to describe it…"

As Kaiko disappears from view, Kaneki's ravaged mind is filled with the blood of everyone he loved. Suddenly, amidst the turmoil inside of him, he stands, walking over to a wardrobe and donning a plain hooded robe. "Eto… Will you follow me one last time?" She nods, worried for him but following him outside the café as it continues to burn around them.

Various glimpses of his surroundings flash by Kaneki as he becomes lost inside his own mind.

 _Where am I going? I must… Kaiko, he needs to die. Rend, Tear, Shred and Rip apart. Do I even need to continue living now? No… My mind is…. Melting, I need to-_

He looks up from inside his hood, suddenly "waking up". His half-Kakuja had disappeared, and he stood alone in a beautiful walled garden before the tallest tower he had ever seen. He breathes in, wondering why he was still alive. "Like the Gates of Righteousness themselves…" His soft eyes harden, his heart bleeding painfully inside him. "They need to crumble…"

Amon walks outside for some fresh air. After Hiyori had taken him and Noro for intensive care, the Commander had come to their beds, telling them of a new advanced healing serum that the research division had created. Not 10 hours later his body was completely healed and was fit for active duty once more.

As he steps outside into the dazzling sunset, he notices that all the guards posted outside had their guns raised. He looks towards the source of the commotion. A robed figure stands in the centre of the garden staring at Amon, who sighs sadly as he realises who it is. Walking forward so the man can hear him, Amon releases his Quinque.

"So it's come to this, One Eyed King? Do you plan on just walking in here and destroying the CCG like you did Cochlea?..."

Kaneki looks into Amons eyes and steadies his breathing. As he takes a step forward, Urie, Noro and Hiyori all step outside, notified by one of the guards of the intruder. Urie raises his hand, and the surrounding windows and rooftops are suddenly filled with investigators standing stoically, their respective Quinque trained in on the lone ghoul.

"We've been waiting for you, King of the Ghouls. An anonymous agent told us you were on your way. So what will you do? Even you cannot defeat this many investigators…"

Kaneki closes his eyes. "What would you do, when everything that you loved had been torn apart and the monster that did it waited within a castle surrounded by mindless slaves?" Urie and Amon wince as the pain in their former comrades voice comes to them. Kaneki takes another step forward, his Kakuja mask forming slowly around his face. The armour causes the robe to tear apart and drift to the ground around him, his Perfect Kakuja form tensed for battle… Amon closes his eyes, steeling his own resolve to finish this.

From a window high upon the CCG Tower, Kaiko looks down upon the scene below, smiling. Yoshitoki hands him a glass of wine and the leader takes a sip. "To the end of the One Eyed King, and to the eternal might of V"…

" **The King begins to despair as he goes to war for the last time…"**

 **End Tokyo Ghoul: Zenith 10**

 **Next time: Devour**


	11. Chapter 11 - Devour

Arata sits slumped outside the burnt husk of :re and sobs uncontrollably. Ayato crouches next to him and lays a stiff, shaking hand on his father's shoulder. "How could this happen? Not again… I can't handle losing anyone else! Why did this happen Ayato?"

The Black Rabbit stares silently at the laid out bodies of Touka and Hinami, a white tablecloth stretched out over them. "I don't know pops. But there is another thing I know for certain…" Arata stops crying and looks up at his son. Ayato's eyes are closed, but now he opens them once more. "Kaneki has been here, and is undoubtedly confronting the CCG right now. We need to go help him one last time…"

Arata struggles to his feet, not understanding. "What do you mean? Why the CCG? This was Kaiko's doing right?" Ayato sighs. "Don't you see that Kaiko, who happens to be _your brother,_ is likely to be sitting at the very top of the CCG Tower? I know what Kaneki will try and do because I know you, dad. Now let's go. There's nothing more we can do for these two now…"

The two Kirishima ghouls set off to the South, to the 1st Ward and the Final Battle… Arata looks behind him one last time to see the white cloth lifted off Touka by the wind. Something catches his attention and his eyes widen as he notices it…. Touka's chest had been ripped open and her heart was missing…

As the CCG soldiers open fire on Kaneki, a monstrous shape drops from the sky, the cement of the courtyard ripping and shattering beneath the force of the landing. The One Eyed Owl roars her defiance and fires round after round into the gunmen, many men and women dying instantly in this first attack.

Kaneki smiles forlornly at Eto as she turns around and nods at him once. _Fight with me one last time, my Owl…_ He unleashes his Kagune, using 10 limbs to rip through an entire line of investigators, their legs swept away from the rest of their bodies. Screams of pain and suffering from the humans barely reach Kaneki's ears as he rips the Quinque out of an investigators arms and snaps it in two. Noro steps in front of the defenceless investigator before Kaneki can kill him and counters his Kagune with Centipede.

Noro takes a deep breath as he prepares to battle the One Eyed Ghoul. Seeing the look in his former mentor's eyes, he knows immediately that Kaneki would not hesitate nor even falter in the act of ripping Noro apart. He clicks the hidden button on Centipede's hilt and the Quinque ripples forth, it's many scaled limbs tangling around Kaneki's Kagune and pulling them to the ground. Urie now leaps in and slashes at his back with Ginkui, the blade tearing through his Kakuja armour painfully. The Special Class investigator continues on past Kaneki as the latter strikes out at him with another Kagune, nicking him on the back of the heel. Ignoring the pain, he releases Ginkui's second stage and attacks Eto, who is ripping into a crowd of investigators, from behind.

She grunts in pain, swinging Urie off her back and crushing several Quinque wielding investigators underfoot as she pursues him back towards the entrance of the CCG Tower. Urie darts in through the door while The Owl smashes through the glass wall into the lobby, interns and office workers scattering in panic.

" _Come here you little shit! I'm gonna rip you limb from limb"._ Urie stops running and faces the Owl while gripping Ginkui tighter. He had been training ever since their last encounter on Rue Island., and was confident that he could now hold his own against her….

Kaneki rips his Kagune free from the embrace of Centipede and slams them into Noro with full force, sending him flying backwards only to be caught by Hiyori and set down onto the ground. She brings out Ixa Mk II while setting another black Quinque case onto the ground. Clicking the lock switch, a new weapon springs up into her awaiting left hand. It was another blade, this one white and with light streaks that seemed to glow and buzz as it was weaved through the air, Hiyori testing its weight.

"I dug up the body of Renji Yomo in order to make my own Nazukami… Could you bear destroying your own friend, Ken Kaneki?" A low grumble issues from his throat as he flexes his fingers, cracking them in typical Yamori fashion. _"You truly are one unholy individual, Hiyori Arima… Why don't you just get out of my way and join your brother in death!"_ Hiyori's eyes widen in shock and anger and she raises her new Quinque ready to let loose its lightning when Kaneki darts forward, slashing the investigator from shoulder to shoulder.

She grunts then flicks the Quinque in an upwards motion, causing the electrified blade to connect with Kaneki's Kakuja mask and send a painful shock down his body. Amon leaps into the fray, splitting Doujima in half and dismembering half of the Kagune the other ghoul is using. Kaneki glares at him while the stumps of his decapitated Kagune bubble and split off, each limb sprouting two or three more Kagune before standing tall.

He lets his Kagune thrash wildly in mid-air and slams several into the ground before him, causing the paved ground between him and the investigators to splinter and collapse. Amon hauls Noro to his feet and the three of them face Kaneki together. "If we don't get serious here it's going to be slaughter guys… Noro, I give you permission to use your Kagune…"

The younger man nods and tenses his body, the Rinkakku Kagune given to him by Kaneki slowly expanding from his body and poised mid-air, ready to strike. Likewise, Amon too unleashes his Kagune, a dark purple Ukkaku limb that took the form of two large spores upon his upper back. Kaneki stares at his two former friends releasing their predatory organs at last.

" _Ah…Noro it seems that you've finally come around to admitting what a true weapon is. True strength comes from within, but the Kagune certainly is an effective weapon…"_ Noro snarls. "You don't have the right to speak with me anymore. One Eyed King. What do you plan to do here anyway?" The King sighs, lashing out and clashing with both Amon and Noro's Kagune between them.

" _I really don't want to fight you. In fact, I'd rather only take one life if I can…"_ Amon shakes his head sadly before using his Kagune to cut off Kaneki's Kagune at the very stem, slicing the unprotected part of his back at the same time. "You know I can't allow you to kill anymore Kaneki. You will not pass here today". He's surprised that Kaneki wasn't tearing them apart in a savage rage. Seeing the look in his eyes as he approached the Headquarters… That was the look of someone who had nothing left to loose. Kaneki had just lost something dear to him.

But Amon says nothing of this to anyone. Instead, he carries out a coordinated attack with Noro, both using their artificial Kagune to their fullest extent. Kaneki holds up against the onslaught just fine, but as he pushes the two men back with his limbs once more, Hiyori steps in between the panting half ghouls. "It looks to me like your Kagune aren't going to cut it I'm afraid. Care for some assistance?"

The Special Class raises an eyebrow at the suggestion but nods. Hiyori takes both Ixa Mk II and the unnamed Quinque created from Yomo's corpse and crosses the two blades. Specifically indented sections of the Quinque's allow the two weapons to slot together perfectly and a black armour spirals down both her arms up to the shoulders. Her two Quinque's are now fused with her arms and the First Class investigator sprints forward, slashing at Kaneki's Kagune. The blades sheer through the fleshy organ like butter, but she doesn't stop. Walking calmly forward, she continues dismembering the Kings Kagune while Kaneki himself finds the limbs she has cut are unable to multiply.

He jumps backwards, using his Kagune to propel himself far from Hiyori's reach. _"That…is a Kakuja Quinque if I'm not mistaken… No, two Kakuja Quinque's sharing your Central Nervous System to operate… A disgusting weapon"._ He cracks his finger, running back into battle as Amon and Noro strike out with their Kagune…

Urie ducks behind a counter as the Owls deadly Ukkaku shards rip through the wall behind him. He keeps his head down as he hears Eto growl in frustration. The Special Class smiles, knowing that despite her regenerative abilities, he had managed to get in several deep blows. Her pride was scarred at least. Vaulting over the counter, he slashes Ginkui in an arc, its deadly trail of inky blackness cutting into one of Eto's arms. She snickers, grabbing the Quinque mid-swing and tearing it from Urie's grasp.

He rolls under her next attack, barely escaping being crushed by the Owls giant foot as Eto takes Ginkui in her jaw and bites down on it hard. The blade shatters into three pieces and she crunches on the steel contentedly.

" _Who knew that Noroi would taste so good? He was always such a sweet foster father. Better than my own for sure, but it's sad that he's gone now. Say, you were the one that killed him right?"_

She lunges for him, her maw opening in order to eat the investigator whole. Urie's eyes widen as he realises that he has no time to evade. _Fuck! Do I really have to use it here?..._ He closes his eyes and when he opens them again, The Owls teeth have bitten down on his Kagune, which is now a black colour similar to Kaneki's. "That might be a little tougher than Ginkui, Owl… Watch your teeth…"

Eto's eyes widen beneath her Kakuja as her teeth suddenly splinter and crack, bone and blood splattering over Urie and the floor of the lobby. He smiles. "When I heard about the Zenith Quinckes new 10 Frame system, I just had to get an upgrade… How do you like the taste of your demise, Owl?"

The One Eyed Owl rises to her full height as the broken jaw regenerates before him. _"You damn pest! I'll make mincemeat out of you!"_ She swipes at his Kagune savagely with her arm but Urie's Kagune slices right through the limb. Eto snarls and instead uses the blade-like limbs on her back to keep pushing the investigator back until his own back hits the wall of the lobby.

" _Got you!"_ She comes at him with both blades and while one counters his Kagune, the other pierces Urie directly through his chest, breaking several ribs and once pulling her blade out, causing him to drop to one knee, blood pooling around him. Eto stomps towards him, her mouth hanging open greedily. Urie smiles despite his situation, closing his eyes as the Owl comes for him one last time…

 _This is the way I'm going to go huh? There's still so much I want to do… I've only just made Special Class, hell, I'm taking on the One Eyed Owl for god's sake but… only a few hits and I'm ready to go? Fuuuck… I can't move these damn arms…. My Kagune…. isn't responding either…. Mutsuki, Saiko… everyone… Please don't let me hold you down. Don't wait up for me…_

He accepts his end wholeheartedly as he feels Eto's hot breath upon his face. He cringes…. But death doesn't come. Opening his eyes a crack, he sees hundreds of investigators surrounding him and the Owl, the ghoul herself knocked back by the onslaught of someone's Kagune. Mutsuki is lashing out at the Owl ferociously as Shinohara and Saiko both come to Urie's aid. Shinohara smiles down at his younger comrade.

"You got messed up badly kid. But you've done an excellent job, so just sit back and let me handle this". He stands and activates his Kakuja Quinque, Arata Prota, and releases his S rated Quinque. Eto regains her footing while Mutsuki comes and stands next to Shinohara. In the past 3 months, he had been promoted to Associate Special Class investigator and was vice commander of this specially created Anti-Owl division.

Shinohara smiles at the Owl. "It's been a long time, Owl. I'm not going to go down as easily as last time… Investigators, attack!" The encircled One Eye thrashes wildly as her enemies open fire with Q Bullets and those using Quinque all dart in and out of her reach, taking hunks of flesh with them. Mutsuki keeps her pinned with constant onslaught from his Kagune while Shinohara moves in to slice at the Owls arms and Blades with his Quinque.

Eto is screaming in suffering and pain as the constant assaults from the investigators and half ghouls bring her steadily to her knees. Despite being one of the strongest ghouls in history, she was unable to effectively deal with blows coming from all directions like this. Shinohara sweeps his blade in a wide arc and cleaves the arms and legs from her Kakuja, her own legs going with it. Even as she falls to the ground, the slaughter doesn't falter. Eto is hacked, slashed, ripped and torn asunder. Even as Shinohara raises his hand to halt the attack, Eto feels none of it. She is no longer inside the CCG's Headquarters, but standing far above the city of Tokyo, clouds passing by her on their eternal journey…

 _She pats down her body, but her grievous wounds are gone, and she is wearing a pretty pink dress. "Hey you! Get up off the ground idiot". Eto looks up to see… herself walking towards her. The other Eto is dressed in her old attire of bandages and a purple robe. "What's going on? Where am I?" Her twin smiles beneath the bandages, changing her mind and sitting down upon the clouds with Eto, her legs swinging merrily. "Well currently, you're being torn limb from limb by some pathetic humans… Oh the Irony. The SSS rated "One Eyed Owl", being defeated by those petty puppets of V"._

 _Eto frowns. "Hey it's not my fault. They have me completely surrounded… What am I supposed to do? And also, what am I supposed to call you?" The reflection sighs, raising her head to the setting sun on the horizon. "Well call me Owl of course. Listen… It's a really bad time to be acting out of character you know…" Eto frowns. "I don't understand"._

 _Owl laughs melodically. "Fighting for someone else? What's happened to you? You don't owe the world any favours right? So why give your life for another?" Eto freezes. "My life…. For another… Kaneki! I need to get back to him!" Its Owls turn to frown. "See what I mean? You don't even think about it, but you're willing to risk your own life for Ken Kaneki… That's not the Eto Yoshimura I know"._

 _Eto nods slowly. "You know… I think you might be right. But there's one thing I know that even you might not". Owl raises an eyebrow. "Oh? What is that exactly?" Eto looks up behind them and Kaneki walks out of the clouds towards her. He stops a few feet away from her and says precisely what Eto thought he would._

" _Why do you fight?..."_

 _Eto suddenly begins to tear up and smiles. "Stupid Ken Kaneki… That's what you meant by your duty to me being done…" She waves her hand through him and the spectral image evaporates into the air. Turning to Owl once more, she takes a deep breath. "I know what I fight for… I fight, so that others don't have to. So that those that I care about don't need to worry about me… That is why I fight"._

 _Owl nods, seeming to become for respectful towards Eto. "Well then… It seems that you already know what you want to do, so I'll ask you one last question. Is the Red Emperor going to rise?"_

 _Eto pauses. "I'm not sure… But we'll try our damn hardest to make it happen won't we?" Owl grins maliciously, rubbing her hands together as the two entities start to join as one. "Now that's the Eto I know. Go back. It's not your time yet…."_

Shinohara stands stock still as he takes in the scene before him. Men and women were cheering at the demise of the One Eyed Owl, but he felt no sense of victory. Walking forward slowly, he raises his Quinque to deliver one last blow to ensure the outcome of the battle, but hesitates when he catches a glimpse of the Owls face beneath the blood and gore of her Kakuja. She was smiling. A sudden hollow wind fills the lobby and the investigators fall silent as a voice reaches their ears.

" _I…I fight so others don't have to. I fight…so they can live"…_ Shinohara leaps back as an intense red glow fills the room. Eto's Kakuja remains were piecing themselves back together around her body, healing along the way. But it doesn't stop there. As more and more flesh and blood returns to her form, the Owl's Kakuja seems to swell in size, until the SSS rated ghoul is more than twice the size she was earlier.

" _Special Class Shinohara… To be honest, I don't have time to die here, so I was just taking a little nap. Say, I'm quite hungry after that. Time for breakfast!"_ She swipes her claws over one side of the ring of investigators, each deadly appendage over 2 metres in length. Tearing through the men and women with practiced ease, she flicks their blood from her arm and grins. _"You must know what a ghoulish breakfast means right? Time to devour…."_

Kaneki dodges another slash from Hiyori and strikes Noro painfully in the ribs as the latter attempts to use Hiyori as a diversion. The long, drawn out battle is beginning to make the One Eye anxious. _I can't waste too much time here… Kaiko will surely escape back into the deep if I don't finish this soon!_ He forms one of his Kagune into a blade and darts forward, Noro's eyed widening in shock as his right arm is severed entirely by Kaneki's Kagune.

Hiyori attempts to beat Kaneki back but he growls in frustrated anger and grabs both her Kakuja Quinque in his bare hands, using his Kagune limbs to then spiral round the blades, crushing them completely. The young Arima falls back as she lets the scattered remains of her weapons fall through her fingertips. Running over to Noro, she quickly tears a piece of fabric from her coat and binds the bloody stump that marked where his arm used to be.

Noro looks through blackening vision at Kaneki who once again slashes Kagune with Amon who had stepped in front of them. Hiyori drags him backwards, ignoring Noro's struggling resistance. "Stop that! You just lost an arm and I don't have any weapons to fight with. I'm _not_ letting you die here, got it?" She doesn't wait for an answer, instead kissing Noro intensely on the lips before setting him against a low wall.

She rises to join Amon, who's Kagune had been sliced off at the base. "Damn… He cut down my Kagune, and I don't have healing abilities anywhere close to his… We're defenceless…" Kaneki takes a few steps forward, ready to finish the trio off when several dark red Kagune burst through the pavement beneath him, tearing right through his Kakuja's armour. Blood begins pouring through the new cracks in his armour as he glares at the figure emerging from the trees to their left.

" _Kaiko… So you came after all"._ The leader of V nods, lashing out again and again with his Kagune. "It's time I stepped in to save humanity after all. You're everyone's enemy here Ken Kaneki. Even your own…" As he continues to pierce Kaneki's body with godlike ease, Hiyori frowns and Amon tenses up. "Isn't that… Kaiko? But if he's here then Kaneki…." He pauses as Yoshitoki Washuu steps out from the same tree line Kaiko emerged from. "Stand down Special Class Amon. This man is not our enemy, but that man? The One Eyed King? He is our enemy… Just stay back and watch how the true master deals with this upstart…"

Kaneki attempts to launch a counter attack, but Kaiko assaults him with such power that leaves him unable to even produce more Kagune. Every time he manages to slice off one of his opponents limbs more than 5 more emerge to take their places. Kaiko grins. "You're not the only one who can produce infinite amounts of Kagune, Ken Kaneki! But you see, I've had much more practice than you. Well? Show me. Show your uncle Kaiko that the One Eyed King truly is more than a pathetic fairy tale for the hopeless!"

The King is unable to speak after Kaiko's Kagune slashes him across the throat. His breathing is becoming harder to maintain, so his vision swims. At this point, his Kakuja armour is little more than tattered pieces hanging off his body. Kaiko pierces him through the chest, bursting his heart open and rupturing most of his internal organs. Blood fills his lungs and pours out of his throat. Kaiko ceases his monstrous attack as Kaneki falls onto both knees before falling flat on his face, his own blood pooling in copious amounts around him.

Kaneki raises his eyes to his killer as the leader of V looks down at him disdainfully. "And so it is done… The One Eyed King was nothing more than a pitiful wreck of a boy, unable to even scratch me… Was it worth it, Ken Kaneki?" He turns away after he gets no answer, walking towards Yoshitoki with a smile of absolute malice on his masked face.

That was the moment when Ken Kaneki died, his life slipping away even as Eto burst forth from the lobby windows in her new even more monstrous form. She slams down next to Kaneki and stares at his lifeless body silently. Tatari appears seemingly out of nowhere and pays his hand on her giant scaled arm. Eto Yoshimura grieves for the loss of a man he loved and Tatari grieved for what was to come…

 _Kaneki opens his eyes, an overwhelming scent of flowers causing him to sit up and look in wonder at his surroundings. He lay in a field of flowers, that very place he had caught glimpses of so many times before. A hand grasps his shoulder from behind and he turns to see a group of people staring at him._

 _Hide, Touka, Hinami, Tsukiyama, Yomo, Yoshimura and Nishiki. Everyone that he had lost was smiling at him, but for some reason he felt distant from them. Touka strokes his face with her soft hand, smiling sweetly. "Kaneki… You're finally here". He nods. "This is… the afterlife, isn't it?" Touka nods, ruffling his hair affectionately. "You've seen it before, every time you touched death. But there's still something tying you to that world…"_

 _Kaneki follows her eyes to see a long, red cord leading from his breast to the infinite darkness beyond the Field. "I don't understand. I don't remember-"He pauses as all the memories up to his death rush back to him, causing him to clutch at his heart in pain and grief. Hide steps forward and folds his arms. "Don't you see Kaneki? You can still feel those emotions. Do you have something you want to tell us?"_

 _Kaneki starts crying uncontrollably, tears flowing down his cheeks. "I don't want to die yet everyone. I still have to avenge you…" Yoshimura nods kindly. "Is that what you want? Once you leave the Afterlife, you can never again have eternal peace…" The One Eyed Ghoul stops crying, wipes his eyes and stands facing the people he cared about most._

" _Everyone… I have to go now ok?" He smiles happily, letting everyone embrace him at once. Their energy flows through his body, the red cord seeming to become lighter. "I love you…" He steps away from the group and walks in solitude towards the infinite oblivion bordering the Field. As he stops on the edge of life, he recalls a conversation he once had with Tatari on Rue Island._

" _You want to know if there's another way to attain Kakuja?"…_

Kaiko joins Yoshitoki and the others. Amon is shaking at the scene of carnage before him. Kaiko had single handily slain the most powerful ghoul in existence… However, a gasp from Eto causes them all to turn around… and witness a miracle…

Kaneki rose up from the ground, his wounds no longer scarring his body as a red glow covers his entire form. Tatari now smiles in relief as Eto stares in incomprehension at the scene before her. _"What the hell is going on here?... He died!"_ Tatari nods. "Indeed he did Eto. I believe it's time I told you a long kept secret of mine…"

He turns, watching Kaneki stand up and look directly into Kaiko's shocked eyes. "In Ancient China, the ghouls had their own version of Japan's One Eyed King. This was a similar tale of a leader of all ghouls that would bring about their salvation. Whether this is true or not matters little. But the name of this leader was… The Red Emperor…"

Eto continues to gaze in awe as Kaneki's body glows deep red. All of a sudden he stops glowing and rises to his feet, staring at Kaiko through calm, powerful eyes. He raises his arm and RC cells literally flow from his upper arm down to the lower, a Kagune blade forming out of the place his hand was a second earlier. Tatari smiles again. "The Red Emperor has a Japanese name also. It's Called Shoten Kakuja, the Ascended One".

Kaneki beckons towards Kaiko with his "Kagune Arm", taking a step forward. "Let's begin, Kaiko Kaneki…"

" **The Emperor rises from his throne!"**

 **End Tokyo Ghoul: Zenith 11**

 **Next time: The Ascended One**


	12. Chapter 12 - Ascended One

" **The Emperor has risen to defend all that is his!"**

Kaiko watches Kaneki stand up with shaking fists. As the resurrected ghoul beckons towards him calmly, the leader of V completely loses his composure. He unleashes his Kagune and swipes wildly at Kaneki. "You died! Why do you continue to battle when you know it's hopeless? You are nothing more than a tool. A method to demoralise the ghouls of this world!"

Kaneki looks at Kaiko with calm eyes as he clashes with his opponents Kagune, the blade protruding from his arm slicing the limbs cleanly in half. Kaiko growls and releases another Kagune, thrusting towards the One Eye from behind but just as the limb nears his body, a patch of Kakuja armour emerges from beneath Kaneki's skin, shattering the offending Kagune.

Eto stands with Tatari as they watch Kaneki now be swiped at by Kaiko, his Kagune passing directly through his body but leaving him unscathed. The flesh affected has taken on a liquid-like consistency as it mends itself. The Owls eyes widen. _"That's impossible… He's using his RC Cells to turn his entire body into a Kagune?"_ Tatari nods. "The Red Emperor, The One Eyed King. They are one and the same. But Ken Kaneki has made the ultimate sacrifice… He has forsaken eternal peace in order to reach the highest stage attainable in a Kagune, an Ascended Kakuja…"

Eto frowns. _"Forsaken eternal peace? You mean he rejected death?"_ Tatari uses his Kagune to slash at an investigator approaching stealthily behind them and nods. "That's not the direct cause however. To gain an Ascended Kakuja a ghoul needs to be strong, strong enough to withstand the vigorous changes that this form brings upon your body…"

As they speak, Kaneki darts quickly to the left of the frenzied Kaiko and cleanly dismembers the ghoul's left hand with his Kagunefied arm, stepping back as Kaiko lunges forward to swipe at his opponents face. The One Eye smiles as the blade in his arm lengthens and he lobs both of Kaiko's legs from his body, just as Kishou Arima had once done to Kaneki himself.

Now reduced to a crawling shuffle, Kaiko stares up at Kaneki with hate filled eyes. An armour twisting over his body and face, his severed hand and legs begin sprouting Kagune limbs. _"You….You bothersome pest! Do you think you're some kind of avenging hero? Come to slay the demon have we? Think again Ken Kaneki! I won't be beaten by the likes of you!"_

Kaneki raises his eyebrows as he swiftly dodges Kaiko's Kagune as the latter staggers to his feet and lunges at the One Eye, hacking and slashing with his Kagune. Kaneki sighs, batting away Kaiko's limbs with ease and slashing off his Kagune at its base as the leader of V falls forward due to his own momentum. Turning to the pitiful form of Kaiko growling on the ground, Kaneki shakes his head disdainfully.

"I'm not a hero. I could never be a hero, because you see… I'm not even that strong. I'm just a broken tool". He cracks his fingers while cocking his head, the single Kakugan in his left eye gleaming at Kaiko. "But that doesn't mean I can't keep on living. Hide once told me to keep on living in order to find my own reason. I still haven't found it but…." He looks over towards Eto, staring her directly in her Kakuja's single eye.

"But maybe I've found it, a reason hidden so deeply that it took death itself to awaken me to the truth. I live for the love of another… That is my purpose for living, Kaiko. What is yours? You always feared the One Eyed King, always feared that one day there would be someone to challenge your hold over this world. Look at you now, mind deteriorating, savage as a cornered animal who knows his end is near".

"We are of the same blood, you and I, but we are not the same. You are weak, and I am strong. So please, die in silence". He raises his Kagune blade to finish the fight, but Kaiko suddenly begins to laugh. He laughs as his body mends itself and he rises to his Kagunefied feet and continues to laugh as his incomplete Kakuja dissipates, the scaly regrown limbs filling out and growing in size.

Kaiko's white mask had shattered in his Half-Kakuja craze and now his true face was revealed. Eto gasps as Kaiko's grotesque features come into view. His entire face was covered in dark red scales and his eyes and mouth were almost demonic looking. _"To think my hand was forced by a mere upstart like you… Very well. If you wish throw away your fragmented life then face me!"_

Amon and the other onlooking investigators retreat fearfully as Kaiko slowly continues growing larger until his own clothing tears away, leaving only a monster wearing ripped pants instead of a man. The Special Investigator raises a shaking hand to his forehead. Hiyori turns away from the unconscious Noro and her eyes widen in fear. "What is it First Class Arima? Do you know something?"

She nods shakily. "It's an old story that Kaiko always told us children of the Garden. It was about ghouls that lived a very long time ago. Before humanity bent the earth to its will. He told us of the first ghouls, titanic beasts that savagely hunted humans openly for food. It was only about a thousand years ago that ghouls evolved to a human form in order to survive the changing world…."

Tatari also breathes out in shaky awe at the beast standing before them. "A Primordial Ghoul…" While each witness had their own fearful thoughts regarding this monster, Kaneki cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. "A Primordial Ghoul hmm? Impressive. But… do you really think size and strength is what matters in a fight Kaiko?" As he finishes this sentence, the One Eyed Ghoul leaps up into the air, his outstretched leg morphing into a deadly blade. Kaiko grins menacingly and swats at Kaneki as if he were an insect, sending the white haired ghoul flying into and through one of the high walls surrounding the Garden.

Kaiko howls with laughter until he hears something coming from behind him. Twisting around, he spots the red Kagune streaking towards him. Attempting to evade, he dives to the ground but the Kagune pursues him, impaling his chest and barely missing the heart. Eto smiles as she sees this manoeuvre. "So you finally figured out my old detachment trick did you Kaneki? That's my boy"…

Emerging from the settling dust of the now ruined wall, Kaneki walks forward unscathed. He sprints at Kaiko, his Kagune emerging and locking limbs with Kaiko's own monstrous sized Kagune. The demonic Kaiko grins as he pushes at Kaneki's Kagune with all his might, thinking to push the much smaller opponent back with ease. Instead, Kaneki front flips towards Kaiko, both his legs forming into axe shaped Kagune as he slices right through the gigantic Kagune before slashing Kaiko deeply from shoulder to hip.

"Primordial Ghoul or not, you can't think that I'm going to let you escape again do you?" Kaneki's eyes turn cold and he thrusts a Kagune limb into Kaiko's bloated hand, causing the ghoul to growl in anger. "You have destroyed everything I hold dear. I will not stop until you and everything you represent is crushed into dust!"

Kaiko snickers as he jumps up, tearing Kaneki's Kagune in half before leaping once again at the One Eyed before they continue exchanging blows…

High above the battle playing out beneath it, a shadowy figure watches the great battle with a smile on his lips, the rest of his face obscured by a hood. Another mysterious individual joins the first and huffs impatiently. The first watcher glances at the newcomer. "Patience, my sister. Tragedies take time to ripen you know…"

The woman nods and smiles also. "I always liked Ken Kaneki. So much stronger than the rest of us don't you think? He's also kinda cute". The man shrugs, raising a small chunk of bloody flesh and licking it delicately. "He was strong enough to reject the temptation of death in order to gain even more power. This is turning into a true Epic is it not?"

"Yep! And we know the ending already, don't we Uta-san?" Uta nods beneath his hood, biting his lip nervously. "Roma-san. Do you know what's going to happen next? The outcome of this battle and afterwards?" Roma shrugs off her hood, her face concealed by a comically grinning clown mask. As she steps forward to hug Uta affectionately, she shakes her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder.

"I've got no idea what's going to happen now Uta-san. Do you know how much of an amazing feeling this is?" He grins beneath his own faceless mask as his hood is swept away by the breeze. "Wouldn't it be poetic if the Kakuja's Egg had the last laugh after all? He seems to have decided to carve his own way, despite the consequences".

Roma sighs and leans across a railing, staring down at the humongous form of Eto within her Kakuja. He's been through so much, and he said his reason to live was for the love of another. Even after losing so much, he makes me cry…" As if on cue, she begins sniffling and rubbing away the stray tears that streak down her face. Uta pats her affectionately on the head and turns to leave the scene as Amon looks directly up at them, seemingly recognising the two watchers as his eyes widen. Roma winks at Amon before capering away behind Uta as they leave the battle behind them…

Amon frowns as he watches the two mysterious figures retreat from sight. He had seen those masks before somewhere…. He suddenly slaps his forehead before laughing softly. _Of course… I'd forgotten about the Clowns. Those Jokers are even more elusive than V…_ A loud crash from the courtyard draws his attention back to the fight at hand. Kaneki had been slammed into the ground by Kaiko grabbing the One Eye with his Kagune. Amon looks around at the other onlookers. Eto, The One Eyed Owl and Tatari stood together watching Kaneki intently. Beside him, Yoshitoki Washuu and Hiyori also looked on passively.

 _Everyone knew and accepted that this was it. This was the Endgame of the One Eyed King and Kaiko, the leader of V. Our duties were done. We were merely pawns, a means to an end to ensure this battle took place here and now._

As the dust settles from the great force of Kaiko's attack, Kaneki rises to his feet and once more lashes out at his adversary and flicks his Kagune across Kaiko's face, drawing a long line of blood that flowed down his features in small rivulets. Snarling, Kaiko wipes the blood from his face. _"You know you cannot reach me, yet you continue to defy your fate. Why? There is nothing awaiting you besides eternal anguish!"_

Walking slowly towards him, Kaiko smiles. _"You forsook death in order to gain more power didn't you? So greedy for a man who has nothing, Ken Kaneki. Why bother fighting me? You know you cannot do anything here…"_ He pauses, waiting for Kaneki to break down and go berserk, however, Kaneki merely stares coldly at Kaiko while pulling something out of his back pocket. It was a heart, blood pooling onto the pavement through his fingers.

He raises the organ to his mouth before taking a large bite from it, chewing slowly. Swallowing, he looks at Kaiko with one eye slightly wider than the other, as if regarding the terrible beast before him as an insect. "You tray again and again to make me stray from the path I have chosen, Kaiko. Why is that? Are you mad at me? Jealous of my decision? Or…." He cracks his finger ominously.

"Are you _afraid?_ You seem to think I'm somehow immortal now. Get your head into gear, mastermind of V. I am very much mortal, so I have everything to lose in this fight…. You have taken _everything_ from me but my life. I plan on returning the favour tenfold…" Kaiko dodges a ferocious thrust from Kaneki's Kagune which smashes right through his own, reducing his Kagune to a stump in seconds. He feels a twisting feeling deep in his gut as Kaneki stares into his eyes.

"Kaiko…I'm well aware that my life, my story, has been predetermined by the powers that be from the day I was born. But you know, now? Now it's _my_ turn to be the author. From now on _I_ decide what happens". Kaiko raises a shaking hand to his face hesitantly. The scratch that Kaneki had given him earlier hadn't healed over… and his Kagune had yet to reform. His eyes widen suddenly and he unleashes countless more Kagune limbs as he roars in defiance, throwing his hugs body at the slighter form of Kaneki.

" **Sorrow is always followed by Joy… It burns away everything so that Joy can enter unhindered"…**

Kaneki dodges the clumsy attack with practiced ease and skewers Kaiko's body with multiple Kagune, tearing his body asunder. Ripping, slashing and crushing, Kaneki outright devastates Kaiko's helpless body as the latter thrashes wildly in an ever-growing pool of his own flesh and blood. Due to the now 100 percent RC cell quantity in his body, Kaneki's attacks were unable to be healed by normal ghoulish regeneration.

" **Though a twisted Joy, it serves as an infinitely more powerful source of strength than Sorrow could ever be, likened to that of a God"**

Kaiko's mind melts as his body dissolves around him. The intense feeling is suddenly given a name to him. Fear… He had always feared Ken Kaneki. Feared the fabled One Eyed King. Not because of its legendary status, but because of the kind of person Kaneki truly was. If not kept restrained, restricted and in a state of sorrow, he would rise above Kaiko and strike him down.

He laughs silently though broken lungs and lips. His vision fails altogether as his eyes are stabbed by one of Kaneki's Kagune and he retreats to his inner mind palace…

 _Kaiko is greeted at the gates of his palace by a spectral image of Arata Kirishima. "Ah, If it isn't Kaiko, my dear brother!" Arata smiles as he goes to embrace Kaiko, but the ghoul steps back, frowning. "How can you be here? If you aren't already…" Arata nods, confirming his thoughts. "Dead. Yes, I was killed by a group of Doves on the way to you and Kaneki… Arata managed to escape while I fended them off as long as I could…"_

" _ **All consuming, even death cannot stifle its power"**_

 _Kaiko shakes his head. "So we're both finished then?" Arata nods sadly. He looks at Kaiko's palace behind them, itself beginning to fade and crumble. "Why did you do it Kaiko? All of this work you've done; V, The Garden, the CCG and trying to supress Kaneki and all the other ghouls. To what purpose have you done what you've done? It's all been for nothing clearly…"_

 _Kaiko sighs. "Everyone still living would never be able to understand. People are immediately opposed to secretive and shadowy ideals and groups like V. If only Kaneki could have just understood that what I was doing could have been for the greater good". Arata waits patiently for Kaiko to continue as the palace's turrets crack and tumble into Oblivion._

" _You know of the Garden of course. I raised Human children like Kishou Arima to fight ghouls. But it wasn't that simple for you see… there was another Garden, before this one. A Garden where I trained Ghoul children for war… But they were unable to be contained, and all the children escaped. That group of ghouls become well known for disrupting the balance of anything that I though V tried to achieve. They became known as the Clowns…"_

 _Kaiko and Arata talk more of their lives and dreams, the things they wished they could have changed. At last, the last vestiges of Kaiko's castle evaporates into infinite blackness as he clutches at his heart. "It's almost time. I'm about to die aren't I?..." Arata nods mutedly, tears streaking down his face. Kaiko suddenly stops clutching, the pain disappearing. "What's going on?"_

Kaneki stands over the minced remains of Kaiko's huge body as it returns to regular size. Turning his body over, Kaneki is unsurprised to see that, though covered in gore and blood, the man's face was very similar to Kaneki's own. "Here lies the man with all the answers in this world. I can't kill him just yet…"

As he says this, a streak of white-hot energy blasts past him and spirals into Kaiko's prone form, leaving only ashes in its wake. Without thinking Kaneki lashes out at the perpetrator with his Kagune, piercing the heart of an investigator standing in the street bearing two Quinque.

Amon's eyes widen as the man's face flops back and he falls to the ground, dead. Kishou Arima's body crumbles into dust as another man steps out from behind the corner of an alley. Clicking his fingers, a huge smokescreen covers the entire area as gunfire streaks through the air. Eto grabs Tatari before leaping into the air and flying away while Amon drags Noro and Hiyori further towards the lobby. Pulling the Commander along with them, he recoils as Yoshitoki skin feels cold and damp. The Commander of the CCG slumps forward, his face a wrinkled as if he were an old corpse…

Kaneki looks towards the sound of approaching footsteps through the fog. Akhira Kanou claps softly as he faces his Masterpiece and the bodies of Kaiko and Arima. "You were actually able to break all boundaries and defeat Kaiko and V… Kaneki… You truly are a masterpiece…" He stares at the dead corpse of Arima at his feet. "I bet you're wondering why Arima and Yoshitoki are dead now. See, they were…. A different kind of prototype. I need new warriors, indestructible killers for what lies ahead. And you, Ken Kaneki, are the answer…"

Kaneki opens his mouth to speak but no sound is forthcoming. Kanou raises a pistol to his forehead… Ken Kaneki breaks free of his egg for the last time… and feels no more…

" **And then the Sorrowful Egg hatched for a second time, changed… utterly changed, and so… something terribly beautiful was born"**

 **End Tokyo Ghoul Zenith 11**

 **Next Time: {Final Chapter} Licht Und Shatten**


	13. Chapter 13 - Licht and Shatten

" **In the aftermath, who is left standing in Tokyo?"**

Amon stood above an unconscious Urie in the devastated main lobby of the CCG Tower. Around him, bloodied corpses and broken Quinques served as a memento to the murderous rampage of the One Eyed Owl. Urie opens his eyes and takes the hand offered by Amon. "What happened? I remember being knocked out by a swipe from the Owl after it... changed…"

Amon nods as he leans down to close the eyes of a fallen investigator. "The battle is over… Kaneki and Kaiko, the true commander of the CCG and the leader of V fought it out. Kaneki won but I don't know where he is now…" He scowls. "He took Noro's arm and destroyed our Quinque. Those were irreplaceable…"

Urie looks down at the severed hilt of Ginkui in his fist and sighs. "Who really 12dead. Aogiri has retreated into the night once again. So that means we won, right?"

Amon looks around at his fallen comrades. Even after becoming a One Eyed Ghoul, these men and women had still accepted him for who and what he was. _And that was all thanks to Ken Kaneki…_ His attention is caught by a metallic object glinting in the sunset. It was the remains of an armoured gauntlet. A Kakuja Quinque… He dashes over to it and picks it up.

The severed arm was still inside it, and a broken hilt was grasped in its hand. Amon drops to his knees in blood and gore as the cruel reality hits him. "Shinohara's Quinque…. He's gone…" Urie comes over and lays two comforting hands on Amon's shoulder as the Special Class sobs uncontrollably, grieving for the loss of yet another mentor…

It had been 3 months since the cataclysmic battle at the CCG's Headquarters. Aogiri Tree had retreated back into the darkness of the 24th Ward and Rue Island lay abandoned once more. Eto and Tatara sat upon the steel girders of a 6th Ward construction site. Ever since Sachi had been slain by Kishou Arima, the once heavily disciplined ward had become a hotspot of investigator killings, Aogiri's influence slowly corrupting the area until surviving agents of V would emerge only to be killed by Eto and her followers.

Ayato drops down onto a beam high above the two ghouls and Eto smiles up at him. "It's been a long time Ayato-kun. Have you decided to come back to us after all?" After the deaths of his father, sister and lover, Ayato had become severely depressed and had hidden himself away, only surfacing for food. He shakes his head. "I'm done with Aogiri Tree Eto… I've come to tell you that I saw _him_ again…"

Tatara sighs while Eto just leans on her elbow, staring down at the silent city below. "This is the fifth time he's been seen. Was it the usual?" Ayato nods mutedly. "It's the same person. Ever since the battle with Kaiko and V, numerous powerful figures, both humans and ghouls have been acting out of turn. There's been an unknown individual that shows up at large events, dark alleys. Wherever these ambitious people show up _he's_ always there to cut their heads off their shoulders. Sometimes literally".

Eto shrugs. "I don't really care about it to be honest… Aogiri Tree is _over._ Kaneki is gone for good this time. He's dead, and along with him dies the One Eyed King. Without the King Aogiri has no reason to fight anymore. This world has changed, don't you see?"

Ayato frowns, looking out over Tokyo. "Well, the ghouls have certainly been more active. But as a result of that the CCG has cracked down even harder on us. Rue Island is now a CCG base, and there are already rumours of another Ghoul Prison being built in the 11th Ward… Eto, Tatara. You all need to disappear before it's too late. Go across the sea. Go to China… I hear there's a ghoul sanctuary hidden in the mountains…"

Tatara laughs. "Ayato… You know how unrealistic that is don't you? The whole of Eastern China is regulated by the CCG from Shanghai. Aogiri Tree has nothing left to do". The young Kirishima growls, turning his back on the two leaders of the Tree.

"Eto, I hope that this child won't suffer like his father did. Take care of him ok?" He turns around, a tear in his usually cold eye and smiles. "I've always wanted to be an uncle…"

 **25 years later…**

Commander Kotarou Amon stood upon the high walkways of Sigma Tower staring pensively out at Tokyo Bay. Below him, the Rue Island Base was laid out in all its modern architectural glory. He smiles as he watches a group of children run across the beach, throwing a ball amongst their group. He smiles as something behind him draws his attention back to reality.

"Special Class Urie. How are you this morning?" Urie grins sheepishly as his superior discovers his approach. "Just as spry as ever I see Commander. I've just returned from the 23rd Ward sir…" Amon frowns, looking intently at the Special Class. For the last 25 years the 23rd Ward had been a hotspot of ghoul activity. Though they had denied it for all this time, the 23rd and Cochlea was the realm of ghouls now.

"What were you doing in Cochlea Urie? No investigator has entered those halls for years, and with good reason…" Urie bows respectfully. "Sir. I ventured into Cochlea after being tipped off that a valuable artefact had been found within a previously unknown area of the prison. It was a metallic coffin of sorts with a peculiar symbol that you might be interested in…"

He pulls a piece of sketch paper from his back pocket and unfolds it so Amon can see. It was a horizontal crescent moon below a cracked egg shape. The Commander takes a step back, shaking his head. "Honestly… You don't think it's _him_ do you?" Urie sighs and leans on the railing of the walkway. "Unfortunately, I have no doubt. It's Zero's call sign".

Back at that fateful battle 25 years earlier, Ken Kaneki had defeated Kaiko before being attacked by an unknown fighter accompanied by Doctor Kanou. Though nobody had seen what happened next, the dust had settled on nothing but the corpse of the Primordial Ghoul Kaiko. The CCG had eventually recovered from the massive losses and only a year later was twice as strong as it ever was.

For a while things went as per usual, but after a time an unknown ghoul began appearing at important events and places in order to kill powerful ghouls and humans alike. This assassin came to be given the designation Z3R00136 and was given an S rating after he killed several Special Class investigators on a raid of the 11th Ward branch. Years later again that same assassin targeted Amon himself in an assault on the new CCG Headquarters on Rue Island 10 years prior.

He had killed Special Class Ui and Associate Special Class Hirako as well as countless other key personnel in his unprecedented attack. After the incident, the ghoul was raised to a SSS rating and his designation shortened to "Zero". Since that encounter, Zero had disappeared entirely and no one had seen him in over 10 years. Why was a container bearing his symbol buried deep in the ruins of Cochlea?

Amon looks Urie deeply in the eyes. "So? Is he inside it?" Urie pauses, then shakes his head a fraction. "No. When we opened the container all it contained was this drawing…" He pulls out another piece of paper, this one made of aging parchment. Upon it was scrawled a childish depiction of a house with some kind of Chinese character written in the middle. Amon frowns as he notices the scaly limbs drawn coiling around the base of the house.

"Those are Kagune… and this word is written in Chinese… Do you think it was Tatara?" Urie shakes his head. "Tatara hasn't been seen in years. Aogiri Tree as a whole has all but vanished off the face of the earth. I think this is something different. Maybe ghouls from the mainland…" Amon strokes his greying beard and paces back and forth across the railing. "This isn't any of our concern then. If what you're insinuating is true and Zero has been taken by ghouls from China then the agencies in China can deal with it themselves…"

Urie bows once more before leaving Amon alone with his thoughts…

Noro Schneider wipes the sweat off his brow as he collapses into his chair at the head of a huge conference table. A younger investigator bows towards him as does everyone else in the room. Noro bows in return before taking a large draught from a cooled glass of water before settling down for the meeting.

"It's good to be back everyone. Now, let us commence the S2 Division Conference". The man directly to his right stands and salutes. "Special Class Schneider it's an honour to have you back. As you may know already, Zero has gone missing. Possibly to China…" The investigator, Associate Special Class Takeo Lang, continued with his report before Noro waves him down and addresses his Division.

"My friends… Isn't it time to drop this? The Zero Investigation seems as if it's in the hands of the Chinese Government now. I believe now is the time we must look to our younger companions and our children. The next generation will inherit a peaceful CCG and a peaceful Tokyo! Isn't that what you want?"

Someone towards the other end of the large table laughs. "You're only saying that because you finally got Special Class Arima pregnant sir". Noro glares at the culprit, First Class Siako Yonabashi, and breaks into a smile while twirling his fingers around the handle of his Quinque briefcase. "I don't think that's the kind of thing we should discuss here hmm Yonabashi?"

As he says this, Hiyori enters the dark room through a doorway and lays a hand on Noro's shoulder, dragging him out of the room while his subordinates attempt to curb their laughter. Hiyori faces him once they're alone in the hallway, hands on her hips. "What are you doing here Noro? I thought you said you would quit being an investigator last year!"

Noro raises his one arm in mock surrender, grinning. "And I thought you were supposed to be meeting with the rest of the S3 Division this afternoon. If you were following your schedule, you'd have come home and been none the wiser…"

Hiyori glares at her husband, flicking him on the forehead. "I knew that you'd come back here eventually. You just can't stay away from your responsibilities can you? Also… I think Kishou would have told me the truth when push came to shove…"

Noro shrugs. "We'll never know. But hey, I told you the same thing back then. This?" He raises the stump of his right arm and shakes it around. "As if I could be slowed down by one less limb. You should heed the words of your brother Hiyori. Whoever said one needed to use both arms together?"

Hiyori rolls her eyes and gives her husband a loving kiss on his grizzled cheek. "You know Noro… for a man just grazing 30, you're awfully good looking". Noro winks before waving farewell to his wife as she returns to her own conference…

Noro looks out the curved window into the great shafted atrium of the CCG's Rushima Headquarters and up at the light blue sky beyond. He smiles, remembering those he had lost and those that he had with him now…

Eto looks up from her book and stares out the window of the high-rise apartment. She wore a floral dress to fit the warming weather of the oncoming summer, the breeze coming through the open window causing her dress to waft around as she rises to her feet and sits at the dining table. Tatara steps into the apartment, dressed in a stylish black jacket and white collared shirt with casual blue jeans he looked every bit his new profession, a Schoolteacher.

Eto looks over towards him as the Chinese ghoul waves at her in greeting. "I still haven't gotten used to being around so many… humans…" Eto raises an eyebrow. "Well you didn't have to stick around but when I offered to let you go you refused. So what's the word on the town?" Tatara shrugs. His face was smooth, unaffected by his advancing years. Because of his unusually white hair, age seemed to have forsaken him entirely. "The CCG is pretty quiet these days so nothing much on that front. But… there have been some rumours that they found something hidden in Cochlea…" Eto looks at him sharply.

"Zero? That guy is a pain in the ass… Us ghouls are trying to stay low and that fucker keeps killing investigators… I hear he was given a SSS ranking huh". Tatara nods. "But he's gone to China is what the people down in the 24th Ward are saying… and some even go as far to say that Kanou is involved…" Eto snarls. "That decrepit fool. You never know what he wants… Even at 70 he's meddling in more experiments? Are you saying that Zero was one of his?"

Tatara shrugs. "It's only a possibility. Anyway, it's over in any case. I'm sure as hell not going back to China but…" He takes a meat pack from the freezer and places it on the bench. "Ayato did say he was heading over there back then. I wonder if he found that magical sanctuary…" He chuckles, turning as a noise from the hall reaches them. A young man of 19 steps in the door, uniform tie loosened around his neck and his bag slung over one shoulder.

He embraces Eto before going to the sofa and falling into its soft embrace. "Jeez mom. When you and Uncle Tatara told me to go to school I didn't think it would be so boring…" Eto joins him on the lounge and ruffles his black hair affectionately. Tatara raises an eyebrow. "You've certainly changed Eto… You've gotten soft in your old age".

Eto glares at him menacingly. "Get lost Tatara I'm only 35. You're the one who needs to watch his hairline, right Kuzo?" Kuzo Kaneki raises his hands, indicating that he wasn't going to get involved and leaves for his room, snatching the now defrosted meat pack from the bench, Tatara blinking in surprise…

 **Tokyo is at peace. All the pieces have been played and the board is set. What is there to do now?**

Uta and Roma sat across the bar from Itori and Nico, their clown masks discarded on the lounge behind them. Itori takes a sip of blood from her wineglass and sighs despondently. "Why doesn't anything interesting happen anymore? When Kaneki brought down that bastard Kaiko and V, I thought that meant we were free... But I don't feel free".

Uta licks his ever present eyeball and raises his eyebrows. "Who ever said that this was over Itori-san? Kaneki isn't the only interesting thing in this world you know, and we still haven't gotten our turn yet have we?" Roma nods excitedly. "I asked the boss and he said that next time we got to have our turn! Isn't that great?!"

Now Nico licks his lips before making a kissy face at his fellow Clowns. "I'm so sick and tired of waiting our turn, but… our little saying isn't for nothing you know… It's going to happen eventually. I do miss Kaneki though. Even after being reborn he still chose to go out like that? Not exactly in style was it?…" Uta laughs happily. "I remember when I said that Tragedies weren't popular, but hey… I thought Tragedy was never ending". Roma, Itori and Nico frown at him, not understanding. Uta sighs, rolling his eyes.

"This chapter has ended… but another is about to begin… the finale! And guess who's going to be there when things go down?" Everyone in the Helter Skelter raises their arms in celebration as a man waits outside the door.

" _Us, the Clowns!"_

He raises his arms that weren't his own to his face, probing and pushing. A sudden weariness comes over him, rendering him unable to move anything. He was inside some kind of black space, oblivion spreading out around him. And from the darkness came a voice…

" _Not yet… They are terrible, without mercy. But you… you will be worse. Rip and Tear, until it is done!"…_

" **Eternal, never ending tragedy. It consumes all in this world!"**

 **Tokyo Ghoul Zenith: END**

 **A/N: Wow… It's been one hell of a ride but I sure as hell enjoyed writing this story! :D Kaneki is gone, but that doesn't mean that the world he inhabited is too! Be on the lookout for my next story, Tokyo Ghoul: Crimson to experience my Finale on the Tokyo Ghoul saga during the Summer :P**

 **(PS: Remember to Rate & Review, as well as follow me if you want to get your hands on :Crimson ASAP)**


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